


Bound Souls

by Mischief_Goddess



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Norse Religion & Lore, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Acceptance, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Amora but not really, Anal Sex, Angst, Avenger Loki (Marvel), BAMF Frigga (Marvel), BAMF Gwenpool, BAMF Loki (Marvel), BAMF Tony Stark, BDSM, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Bondage, Bottom Loki (Marvel), Bottom Tony Stark, Breathplay, Clone Sex, Dark Past, Dimension Travel, Dom Loki (Marvel), Dom Tony Stark, Domestic Avengers, Double Penetration, Dubious Consent, Edgeplay, Emotional Manipulation, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/M, Family, Fantastic Racism, Feels, Fix-Everything, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Forced Relationship, Gwenpool but not really, Gwenpool ships it!, Hardcore, Hurt/Comfort, Incorporating Other Fanfictions!, Internalized Homophobia, Intersex Jotunn (Marvel), Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Kink Exploration, Kinks, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) Gets a Hug, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki (Marvel) Redemption, Loki's Children (Marvel) - Freeform, M/M, Mpreg, Multiverse, Not Thanos Friendly, Object Penetration, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, Oral Sex, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Torture, Porn With Plot, Prank Wars, Protective Frigga (Marvel), Protective Thor (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rimming, Self-Hatred, Shameless Smut, Shapeshifting, Size Kink, Smut, Soulmates, Sub Loki (Marvel), Sub Tony Stark, Think I have all the tags covered yet?, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Time Travel, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Top Loki (Marvel), Top Tony Stark, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Unhealthy Relationships, Whipping, basically everyone in marvel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:13:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 29
Words: 85,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22961473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mischief_Goddess/pseuds/Mischief_Goddess
Summary: When they had sent Loki back up to Asgard in the aftermath of the Chitauri invasion, Tony Stark had thought that would be the last he would see of the psychotic demigod. Little did he know that there was a certain green-eyed god stalking his prey at that moment. Little did he know that he was about to stumble into a life more chaotic than he could have ever dreamed, that he would find that the fallen demigod he once feared had so much more to his story than Thor could have ever told them. And he hardly could have imagined just how much bigger the world...universe...no, universes were.All it took was falling for one God of Mischief...That’s all it ever took to completely change the fate of a dimension.Well...that and a crazy kid with pink highlights in her hair!** Check my bookmarks for the Fan-fics that may be mentioned or included (or ones that are just my favorites!) They're the best of the best when it comes to Frostiron and Stucky smut (My OTPs!), and I will keep adding more as I find or remember them! Enjoy reading the ones you haven't already found while waiting on updates (and maybe those again too!)
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Loki/Tony Stark, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Original Character/Other(s), Past Loki/Amora
Comments: 95
Kudos: 257





	1. The Contract

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own MARVEL (If I did, Loki and Tony would be making out in all the movies…they might end up being R rated though...and possibly there would be a TV show on some smut website...I’m sorry, I’ll stop.) Also, thanks to the authors and artists of all the other fabulous Frostiron fan-fics and fan-art out there for inspiring me to write this story...and yes, I will be sharing all of the gems I have found out there, along with incorporating some of them into the story...just trust me! It will be glorious! I’m also going to include some of my favorite Frostiron fan-arts to go with the writing, because I think that they are half of what caused the dream, as they all connect to various parts in my story. So, thanks in advance to the fabulous artists for all the pics, because everyone knows that I drew none of them! They probably go with other fan-fictions, but some are rather ambiguous and fit my story too, so oh well. 0.0 
> 
> A bit of background: There will be no major changes made to the story based on comments, because the plot is already planned out! I’m a lucid dreamer usually, but one of the times I wasn’t… well, I ended up being in Tony’s mind for many months. Bizarre, right?  
> This story has been written, read, re-read, and edited to death, which is why it has taken me so long to actually post it. I have been my own beta, so kudos to me for that, but I am detailed to a fault (I had the dream years ago, but couldn’t bear to post what I had written until it was absolutely perfect). I'm not finished writing it yet...in fact, there are only a few segments with Gwen written so far, but I have the general plot. I will try to continue writing as fast as I can, but know that updates will eventually slow down quite a bit. It's going to be a very long fic, though.  
> This tale has a whole new take on Loki and his children that I guarantee you haven’t seen before, and if anyone else tries to claim the six-armed musician Sleipnir as their own creation, then darlings, they stole it from me...or rather my insanely realistic and awesome dreams. But anyways, I digress! Onward, to the story!  
> And yes, my dream started with Tony picking up a ‘hot’ news reporter. What a terrible way to begin a story, but oh well…Shameless Smut…(just not with paparazzi okay? Don’t freak.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Chapters 1 & 3 have extremely dubious morality, manipulation, and rape/non-con elements. NEVER use these as guides for real-life behavior, as they depict an incredibly unhealthy beginning to a relationship. Rape or anything close to it is never okay. Both Loki and Tony in this fic have mental issues. Don't be scared away though, the whole fic is not like this, if this kind of stuff bothers you.

_—==Thursday, April 5th, 2012==—_

(One month after the Chitauri Invasion of New York City in this dimension)

Tony Stark had picked up a hot news reporter at his press conference today, and he couldn’t wait to lay her. He opened the door and ushered her inside, quickly removing his suit and gluing himself to her. He fumbled with his shirt buttons, pressing kisses to her lips. The ladies always went crazy with his dominating kiss, but this one was a fighter. Oh well. He did like a strong-willed woman. She relieved him of his pants and he started to unclip her bra, but she pulled away. Playing hard to get now, or what? A little late for that crap. They were already in his bedroom, dammit.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, in a rush to find his release. He had barely even talked to this one before making his move, and she hadn’t really seemed to care, so here he was, and he was only one drink in. He felt awkward without the familiar buzz of alcohol boosting his confidence. Then, his overactive brain suddenly realized he was standing there in his boxers while she was still completely dressed.

“If you wish to undress me, you will undress the real me,” she whispered, pushing him down onto the bed with surprising strength.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Tony complained, but quickly shut up when her hand began massaging him.

“I thought you would have figured it out by now...man of iron…” she purred and Tony groaned at the teasing, “Come on, don’t bullshit me, honey, it’s not attractive…” Tony’s brain suddenly started working, and it felt like his heartbeat thudded to a stop. Had she just said...man of iron?! He was probably jumping to crazy conclusions right? Yeah he was nuts…She was just trying to be sexy, got it. Yeah no. She was talking as though she wasn’t real.

He’d never heard anyone but Thor call him “Man of Iron” too...and the woman standing over him looked kind of...like...

Pristine ivory skin, sleek black hair. The stunning emerald orbs that had first lured him in. And the expression.

There was something about that jawline, those eyes, that smile. It couldn’t be, could it?

No. No one called him Man of Iron except for Thor. And if Thor said it, another might too. Another whom they knew capable of illusions.

“You.” Tony said.

She smiled knowingly at his expression, “Just from that, hmm? Seems nothing slips past you, does it Stark?”

And like a mirage, her appearance rippled and it was indeed the God of Mischief straddling him, hand still massaging his package, as if this whole thing wasn’t fucked up enough already. Loki smirked down at him and Tony did the first thing he could think of, which, in hindsight, was kind of pathetic. He tried to knee the guy where it hurts. Loki caught the blow with his own knees, looking unfazed.

“You have four options right now. I shall only tell you them once, so listen closely.”

“I choose the option where you let me go and I kick your fucking ass!” Tony spat. How the hell had the guy gotten out of his cell on Asgard?

Loki tilted his head, looking irritated, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather hear the other three options before you choose to fight? If you do, I shall respect that choice. I will leave, and give you and your team twenty whole minutes before I start slaughtering civilians...and I will be sure to remind your friends that I tried to offer you other choices where no one gets hurt, but alas, you would not listen…”

“What are the other choices? We kneel to you, we bow to you, and we grovel at your feet begging for mercy?” Tony snapped, “Fuck off.”

"You are correct that all three involve kneeling, though only from you. ’tis a clear choice really. You alone submit to my authority, and tell none that I have been here, and I swear not to harm a soul on this planet."

"Yeah, and I'm really going to take your word on that," Tony scoffed.

"You need not do so. There really are only two deals, but for the second one, you have three options of how you can go about it. There are three main types of binding oaths in my culture. Sver Hlekkur is used commonly. If you could manage to ask Thor without arousing his suspicion, he could tell you about it, but it is a weak spell. Break the oath and you might get a mild stomachache. I daresay that I do not know what it would do to mortals, however, so I suppose it is not exactly fair to you. I shall assume you would not wish to use that one. The second is one occasionally used throughout the nine realms, though I have only seen three or four performed in public throughout my long life. Swearing on one’s troth is only a basic magical oath, but its power is great. All one must do is state the conditions and then verbally state ‘I swear it on my troth.’ Well, that and they must mean it, but you will know when the pact works. You might ask Thor about that one as well. If one breaks their part of the oath, he or she will die a drawn-out and excruciatingly painful death by the power of Yggdrasil."

Tony was interested now, "And the third?"

"One known only by me, using the most sacred and powerful ancient magic. It has a name, which I will not say"

"Wow, cliché much? Sacred oath with ancient magic, that I won't say the name of, because it's like, you know...you know who's magic!"

Loki sighed and released him, to Tony's surprise. He scrambled back to the headboard, unsure what to do. Loki had just assaulted him and now was offering him a chance to sacrifice himself to supposedly prevent even more bloodshed? How was he supposed to respond to that? That was not a normal villain thing to do, right? As far as he was aware, the hero was the one who begged the villain to “Take me instead!” Not that that was what actually happened in most situations like these, but you know, ideals.

"I will not say it because first of all it would mean nothing to you, being in the ancient tongue of magic, and second of all, because my vocal cords are not capable of producing the thunder-cracks of Jotunn drakes, the source of the magic for this spell.”

"Drakes as in dragons." Tony said.

Loki nodded.

Tony groaned, “First it was gods, aliens and portals, now it's dragons? What's next, unicorns or Pegasi?"

"They have both of those in the stables of Asgard, actually,” Loki smirked.

"Nice. When did you get your first pet Balrog?"

"I am not familiar with that creature," Loki frowned, "But this is besides the point. For the sake of simplicity, let us just call it a Blood Oath.”

“Even more cliché and this just got ten times creepier. How much blood exactly?”

"Not much."

“This is just freaky, you know that, right? How am I supposed to trust that this will work?”

“Blood is a simple but powerful tool, Stark. Learn this well. This Blood Oath, if we should both take it, would quite literally make it impossible for either of us to betray the other, if gone about correctly. For your sake I would first attempt to initiate the bonding using an agreement written in English, so you have no doubts about what you are agreeing to, but it might not work.”

“So, like, a contract. You want me to sign a contract.” 

“Call it what you want,” Loki said, “Will you accept my most gracious offer, or will you doom hundreds to death because of your self-esteem?”

"You're an ass.” Tony grumbled, "Fine. Fine, I'll do it. Whatever."

"I thought you might say that," the smug son of a bitch said. Loki shut his eyes and reached out his hand and suddenly there was an old fashioned scroll floating in the air. It was decorated with twining green snakes and golden ivy along the borders. How Loki. An old fashioned quill and container of ink appeared next, and the pen dipped itself, and poised itself above the paper, as if thinking about what it was going to write.

"I, Loki Laufeyson," Loki declared, and the pen scratched away at the paper, leaving in its wake swooping, curling cursive that looked like it had been done by a Gregorian monk copying a Bible it was so ridiculously perfect, "swear that as long as the other party upholds their side of the deal, I will not purposefully cause physical harm to him or any on this planet without his explicit permission. "

Loki looked over at him and grinned, "Your turn. "

"Uh...I, Tony Stark…”

"Full given name," Loki prompted.

"How did you even know that wasn’t my....ugh...ahem...I, Anthony Edward Stark, swear to... uh....What am I agreeing to anyway? You never really specified. Which is it? Letting you kill me, or being your sex slave?"

"I do not wish to kill you, nor do I wish you to be forced into submission with magic. Simply say that you will not expose me to anyone no matter what and you will not cause me harm."

"I Anthony Edward Stark, swear that I will not tell anyone about Loki or hurt him...uh...physically."

The floating quill wrote down everything Tony said, minus the uh, and the inventor felt slightly nauseous. What was he thinking, signing a contract with Loki of all people? Loki, the _lie-smith_ and _trickster_ god. He was just setting himself up to be played.

“And now, for the blood bond to seal the agreement,” Loki said.

“Oh joy,” Tony said, “Please, ladies first.”

“Go right ahead,” Loki grinned, and Tony shot him the evil eye. Loki just chuckled darkly and drew a tiny throwing knife from his boot, and handed it to Tony.

“Seriously, exactly how much blood are we talking about here?” Tony asked.

"A drop mixed with the ink you will sign with shall suffice," Loki said, and Tony let out a sigh of relief, "However the final step in the binding is for one of the two parties to draw in blood and soot their emblem, and as you do not have an emblem, it must be mine.”

Tony raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. The guy could cut himself up however much he liked. He pricked his finger with the tip of the knife and shook the droplet of blood that came up into the inkwell. He sucked on his finger after handing the knife back. Loki repeated the process, and then Tony signed his name on the scroll using the ink mixed with his and Loki's blood, struggling to write with the quill. His signature was sloppy and drunken looking, and made the scroll look far less mystical. Perfect. He gave Loki a shit-eating grin in response to his unimpressed expression. Loki turned away, twirled the knife in his hands, and then gripped it tightly by the hilt, looking like he was psyching himself up. He shut his eyes tight and let out a shuddering sigh. Then something very strange began to happen. His fingers turned a dark blue, and the color spread across palms like ink soaking into paper. The change didn't stop there. The indigo color raced up his arms, and raised ridges in swirling patterns appeared on his skin. Tony assumed Loki's whole body was changing color because soon enough, his neck and face turned blue as well. Raised lines appeared on his cheeks and forehead, and when Loki opened his eyes, they were no longer a brilliant emerald green. They were blood red. Tony shivered, not because he was scared, but because it felt like the room had just gotten twenty degrees colder.

"And now you see me for who I truly am," Loki laughed, but there was no humor in his red eyes, only bitter anger and...was that sadness? No way, but Tony knew pain when he saw it...Tony recalled that Thor had said that not only was Loki not his biological brother, but he was of a different race. One of the frost giant people from Norse mythology, which Tony couldn’t exactly recall the name of right then.

That would explain why the room felt so much colder.

"Why are you showing me?" Tony asked, trying to be gentle, despite the fact that the guy was a cold-blooded, murderous psycho. Could it be that Loki was trying to get approval from someone other than Thor? Could that even be possible? He didn’t want to be the one who sent Loki on a rampage because he didn’t recognize that the asshole was trying to reach out. Thor would kill him, and he wasn’t even joking there. Was that why Loki was doing this though? Or was he just giving Loki too much benefit of the doubt?

Loki ignored him and gritting his teeth, slashed his palm with the knife. He grabbed a jar filled with a small amount of soot out of thin air, much to Tony’s astonishment, and let the bluish-black liquid dribble into the container. The cut began closing on its own after only a few seconds and the flow of blood lessened, and then stopped altogether. The skin knit itself back together and soon there was only a thin white line, and then that vanished too, leaving no evidence of the injury except for the blood on Loki's hand and the knife, and the centimeter or so of blood in the bottom of the jar.

"I'm not showing you anything, Stark," Loki finally replied, his skin returning to its normal milky white pallor. The blood on his hand and knife vanished. "For the spell to work, the blood must not be altered by magic. Only blood from my true form will bind my spirit."

"Oh," Tony said, feeling stupid now. At least Loki was being honest? Loki took the quill and signed his name with the ink, and then, dipping the quill in his own blood, he used green, glowing tendrils to... levitate... the quill and quickly formed a drawing at the bottom of the scroll. It was two snakes entwined. They looked like they were either biting each other’s tails, or their own. Tony didn't have enough time to look at it before Loki rolled it up and summoned a green flame in his other hand.

"Brace yourself Stark," Loki warned, and before Tony could figure out what the heck he was bracing himself for, Loki set fire to the scroll, and suddenly there was a searing, white hot pain on his chest a little to the left above his arc reactor, so excruciating that he couldn't even scream. Finally, the sound came, and he screamed until he was breathless, falling to his knees and leaning heavily against the side of the bed. After a few seconds it lessened greatly but it still hurt like hell. He gasped for breath, and the acrid smell of burning skin met his nostrils. He nearly emptied the contents of his stomach when he looked down, and saw what had caused him so much pain.

He had been magically branded. Loki’s emblem, about the size of a half-dollar, was permanently seared into his flesh in green hues, but quickly turning an angry red.

He whirled on Loki, about to start screaming obscenities, when he saw that Loki was wincing and gingerly touching his chest through his shirt. So it had branded Loki as well? That made Tony feel a little better, but then Loki had the guts to act like it was no big deal.

“My apologies Stark, the branding almost entirely slipped my mind up until the last moment, and I had not time to tarry. It would be of no consequence for an æsir or Jotunn, given our swift healing rates, so mine should be gone within a week. Yours however, will be…”

“Permanent. Fucking Permanent. You’re a fucking asshole Loki,” Tony seethed, taking shaky breaths as he tried to focus on anything but the unbelievable pain he had just felt.

“Allow me to apologize,” Loki whispered seductively, un-strapping his armor and letting it clunk to the floor. It was incredible how fast he removed all the stuff. Tony couldn’t even see some of the straps Loki was unhooking they were so minute and concealed. He made himself estimate how long each piece would take to remove, forced himself to focus on anything except for the fact that he was about to get raped by a psychopathic god, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it now. He had sealed his own fate.

All too soon, Loki was dressed only in brown trousers and a simple white tunic. Tony turned his head away, refusing to look at the evil bastard. Not that he couldn’t tell when the god approached him. Tony huddled at the headboard again, practically hugging his pillows and trying to convince himself that it was for the common good, and it was better this way. What was his sanity, already questionable, compared to the lives of thousands of innocents? He probably deserved this anyways, right, after Stark Industries. He was a screwed up mess of a man, and he shouldn’t care so much about what he wanted, but what he needed to do. For the better good. This was for the better good. Focus on that...

“You made the right choice, pet,” Loki purred, pulling the pillow out of his hands with surprising gentleness and pulling the inventor close to him. Tony focused on every sensation except for Loki’s hands trailing down his bare back in a way that made unwanted heat flare through his body. He had the taste of scotch in his mouth still. His ankle was the slightest bit itchy. His nails needed trimmed, because a ragged end was catching on his sheets. He had an unusually rough callus that was annoying him on his left hand pinky. He focused on his breathing and his expression, keeping both neutral. He was not panicking. He was trying to remember what Pepper had told him that afternoon, something important about the budget...Oh yeah. IRS tax deadline was in a few days. Great. He would make his board of directors handle the paperwork. Pepper should know that he wasn’t going to mess around with that shit.

Loki reached his waistline and tugged on his boxers, and Tony panicked.

He tried to knee Loki in the nose, he really did, but it was like his muscles weren’t responding. Apparently Loki hadn’t been fibbing after all. He really was incapable of hurting the guy. But that was good, because that also probably meant Loki couldn’t hurt him. Hopefully. That in turn, meant that he could run.

He found that he was able to push a startled Loki out of the way long enough to jump out of bed and run for his life. He was only three steps from the door, when Loki literally appeared out of thin air in front of him, and Tony ran straight into the god. Loki wrapped him in a tight embrace, chuckling lightly, and carried a struggling Tony back to the bed.

“Get your...fucking...hands off me…” Tony growled, flinching away from the touch, wincing at the pain the movement caused on his chest

“If you won’t accept my apology willingly, I’m afraid I’ll have to remind you of who is in charge here,” Loki sighed, pinning Tony’s arms down easily with one hand and reaching into the air as if grabbing something with the other. Suddenly there was a bundle of golden chain in his hand. He quickly had a cussing Tony shackled to the headboard.

“Don’t be that way, pet,” Loki rolled his eyes, pinning his thrashing legs beneath his weight. God, he was heavy...His hand reached up to touch Tony’s chest, coming scarily near the arc reactor, and then Tony realized he was going for the green symbol burnt into skin. His fingers danced over the brand, stinging painfully at first, but then the pain faded with a gentle tingling feeling.

“There...better?” Loki asked.

Tony had to admit, that did feel about ten times better than it had about a few seconds ago.

He almost said “Thank you,” or at least until he remembered what Loki was clearly planning on doing with him.

Loki trailed his eyes down his body, tugging off Tony’s boxers without pause and forcefully spreading his legs.

Tony fell limp, realizing it was completely useless to fight. He was like a pathetic ant beneath the god, chained and stripped of every layer of protection. He was going to be raped. He shut his eyes, trying to keep from embarrassing himself by crying, and braced himself for the new and most likely uncomfortable sensation. He felt like a scared teenager who had never touched a girl in his life all over again, and he supposed he was still a virgin in that sense. Was Loki even going to prepare him, give him lubrication? The more he thought about it...probably...probably not. Oh shit…

He imagined pain, comparable to Afghanistan, his insides tearing, Loki laughing maniacally as he took what he wanted from him and leaving him bleeding and sullied on the ground.

_“By the way, you do realize that I wrote around my oath in the contract, right? Sorry, you couldn’t read that part in runes? Too bad for you, because now I can do whatever I want to you…and you’ll like it, pet.”_

The Avengers would arrive, defeat Loki easily, and eventually find him, fucked half to death for the greater good, and shake their heads, “What an idiot. Did he really think that this was a good plan? Well, if he’s that stupid, he probably deserved to be raped. He’s an asshole anyways, so might as well use it for something.”

He saw Captain’s infamous eyebrows of disapproval in that flash-second imagining, and for once, they hurt.

Then he was jerked back to reality when he felt warm breath touch his inner thighs, and silky hair brushing his legs. A sudden wetness along his cock had heat rushing to his lower regions. Tony’s eyes flew open. Loki smirked up at him, eyes dark with lust, and flicked his tongue against Tony’s length again.

If Tony had been expecting anything, it was not this. Loki...was...going to give him a…oh what the HELL. This was so much more screwed up than rape...it was almost worse, because Loki might actually make him feel good, and that just wasn’t acceptable. No, no, this was not happening. Not...

“I did say I would apologize,” Loki purred, low and throaty, his sultry voice sending chills down his spine. Nope. Not turned on. Not at all…

Loki was looking up at Tony, his lips hovering just above his slight arousal, eyes like a predatory animal about to devour him, and Tony shivered with a thrill of fear. He hated his body for betraying him, but at the same time, he knew his own eyes were darkening with lust, his arousal quickly swelling to match his blown pupils. Just from that look...those terrifying, startlingly-emerald eyes. And then, Loki began. His tongue wound slow, lazy circles around Tony’s swollen head, quickly drawing out heat from deep within him, and he held in a moan, disgusted with himself. No. No, No, No. Anthony Edward Stark, don’t you dare succumb to pleasure. You’re a super-hero, Iron Man, not a horny teenager anymore, and you are not enjoying this in the slightest.

He couldn’t figure out how he was supposed to _not_ feel good though, with the slick tongue teasing him in just the right way…oh gods, it was good. He let out a strangled cry of surprise as the tip of Loki’s tongue dove into his slit without warning. Loki raised his eyebrows, and did it again, and despite all his logical reasoning and his screaming conscience, Tony couldn’t stop the needy whine from escaping. The god was all smug looks as he coaxed him to full attention against his will, with a swift accuracy that had Tony practically sobbing already. Loki smirked, and then his mouth fully enveloped Tony’s length, the inventor nearly whimpering at the hot wetness surrounding his arousal. Loki bobbed his head, and took his balls in a dexterous hand, and all of Tony’s restraints broke, his thoughts jumbled.

Nothing else but Loki’s mouth mattered. Loki’s tongue was doing wicked things, curling and pressing and all the while sucking. His hips bucked of their own accord, driving him further into Loki’s mouth, and a wave of pleasure swamped him. He bucked up again, and Loki didn’t protest. Apparently the guy had no gag reflex because the sick bastard just hummed contentedly and kept bobbling his head, meeting Tony’s thrusts, and still all the while sucking with that wicked tongue, and Tony was nearly there already, he was so close, and then Loki pulled away, his slightly-bruised lips making a filthy popping sound, and Tony was there, his back arching with the force of his sudden orgasm. Loki perched on the edge of the bed and watched with a smug expression as Tony’s body spasmed with waves of bliss. Tony was so gone that he unwittingly came with a guttural cry of “Lo..Lokiii…” his hot, sticky release spilling onto his stomach and running down between his trembling legs.

“I could likely remove the brand,” Loki purred, leaning over him and running his hands through the inventor’s hair as he shook with pleasure, “But I think I shall leave it. Wear it proudly, Anthony, and remember that you are mine alone,” When Tony finally started to come off his high, the god was chuckling, and Tony could care less at the moment that it was _Loki_ who had just given him the quickest orgasm he’d had in at least fifteen years. The god snapped his fingers, and Tony was instantly cleaned up and back in his boxers, the chains gone, and he vanished into thin air with a promise to return. Tony was now alone in the darkness, and before he could get his thoughts straight again, he sank into a deep and dreamless sleep.


	2. Tony Stark is Nothing if not Stubborn

_—==Friday, April 6th—Friday, April 13th==—_

Jarvis woke him up the next morning with his usual daily weather report, saying that Tony had slept until after eleven in the morning, which was actually unlike him. He slept late, yes, but not that late. He blinked in the bright noon sunlight, and thought back to last night. What a weird, demented, and creepily erotic dream... He yawned and reached up to scratch an irritating itch on his chest, and choked when his fingers brushed painfully stinging raised lines of already forming scar tissue.

No...

So it hadn't been a dream. He had really made a deal with the devil. He looked down slowly, dreading what he knew he would find. A pair of entwined snakes.

The only good thing was that Jarvis was back, though he had no footage from the previous night's encounter.

"Might I ask why you have suddenly taken interest in your sleeping patterns, Sir?" Jarvis asked.

Tony ignored him, scrolling through hours of video until he came to a conclusion. Apparently, Loki had obtained footage from previous dates, and instead of looping it, he played all of it somehow run together to make it look like Tony was doing his typical tossing, turning nightmare routine right up until minutes after the god left, when abruptly Tony stopped tossing and turning and slumbered peacefully the rest of the night, with a smile on his face even. It was done so well that not even a system like Jarvis could catch it, and it took Tony at least fifteen minutes to figure it out. There were slight changes in lighting every once in a while, subtle yes, but Tony noticed. No sign of Loki anywhere, though. Tony paused the recording and just stared at the screen uncomprehendingly.

What had he done? What had Loki done to him?

"Sir, is something troubling you? You have not moved from that position for almost an hour now," Jarvis made him startle out of his trance-like state.

Yeah, something's troubling me. Loki gave me a blowjob for God's sake, Tony tried to say, but instead he found himself saying, "No, it's actually great. I'm just trying to figure out what made me suddenly stop having nightmares." Guess, Loki's blood oath thing was actually legitimate. Now he was definitely screwed.

"I see. Do you have any theories yet?"

Yes! Tony wanted to scream, Loki has just royally screwed me over because I was a fucking idiot trying to be a martyr for the world!

He tried to show Jarvis the brand, but his muscles locked up every time he tried. He tried to look up what Loki's symbol in mythology was, but apparently that was too revealing, as he found he could not type in the words. He finally managed it by leaving his specialized StarkPhone, suit, and thus Jarvis, behind, and using a computer at the closest library.

He wasn't surprised to find that it was the emblem now permanently branded on him. Loki had told him he could remove it, but that he wasn't going to. What had he said again?

_Wear it proudly, Anthony, and remember that you are mine alone._

Tony shivered, chills running up and down his spine like icy fingers, and suddenly his hand shot forward like it had a will of its own and shut the tab.

"Hey! HEY! You're IRON MAN!" a girl screeched from behind him, and Tony didn't even bother to look. He just ran. He couldn't handle fangirls right now. He needed to escape, escape all this. He needed to do something, build something. Actually no. What he needed was a cocktail and a lobotomy, as Maria Hill might say.

The next two days passed by with Tony in various states of drunkenness, holed up in his workshop pounding away, building suits and trying to figure out a way he could get around the magic and tell someone about the predicament he had gotten himself into.

He tried to say out loud every nickname for Loki ever, he tried calling him the nutty Asgardian, the guy who destroyed half of New York, the alien army commander, bad guy from a few months back, Reindeer Games, Rock of Ages. Heck, he even tried calling him Harry Potter, hoping that with the magical powers and the black hair, Jarvis might just make the connection, but he couldn't even get the words past his lips. He tried writing down Loki. He tried drawing Loki's helmet. He tried mouthing Loki, spelling out Loki in sign language. He tried to merge Loki with another word, he tried to spell out Loki in Morse code, heck he even tried to say and write Loki backwards. He tried, he tried, and he tried, but nothing worked. He could think all he wanted, but actually do the actions? Hell no. It seemed the magic worked based on intent instead of method. And all that was just in the first few hours...

Finally, as the third day drew to a close, Tony realized that he had only one more idea. He figured that if anyone could figure out what was really going on without any clues, it was the other Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D.

With hope dying, he picked up his phone and went to his contacts list, praying that his muscles wouldn't lock up, that he could hit that all important button that would call Nick Fury. Because Tony NEVER called Fury, only the other way around, and Tony didn't even answer when that happened. It infuriated the Pirate, and Tony relished having the upper hand on him in that way.

Fury would instantly know something was drastically wrong if Tony called him, then. Fingers and toes crossed, he reached down to press the little green phone symbol...

And God Bless America, it worked.

Now, for the second part. Hanging up before his mouth said words of explanation that he didn't intend to say.

The silence of that little buzzer stopping ringing was heaven to his ears.

Now, to make sure Fury knew that he wasn't just butt-dialing him, he managed to call and hang up again. In fact, he just kept doing it, over a half-dozen times.

That ought to let Fury know that something was up.

He was wrong.

The phone rang and he answered, like an idiot. It was Fury, and he wasn't happy.

“Howdy, Pirate,” Tony said in a calm, almost taunting way, completely not of his own volition.

"Is this your idea of a prank, Stark?" Fury yelled, and Tony held the phone as far away from him as he could, hastily turning down the volume and wincing. Fury thankfully lowered his voice to a menacing bark, "Ringing my bloody phone off the hook in the middle of a meeting with the World Security Counsel...You're out of your damn mind!"

Tony found himself chuckling, and cursed profanely in his head.

"What did their faces look like?" he taunted. No! Why are you saying _that?_ He should never have picked up the phone, because now he wasn't in control of his voice, and he was going to write off his last idea as a prank.

"One more time, Stark, I'm warning you. Act like a mature human being instead of a two year old, or I swear to God, there won't be anything left of you for your army of lawyers to protect when I get through with you."

"Righty-o. Or should I say, Aye Matey?" Tony found himself poking fun at the director, even though he was trying to scream HELP!

His heart sank as he hung up on the ticked Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. There went that plan...or maybe not.

Tony Stark was nothing if not stubborn.

He repeated the same thing with every single Avenger, ignoring it when they called him back and left voicemails asking what the heck he was doing.

As he was thinking about his teammates, getting ready to call Barton for the second time, he realized something.

If one of them came to live full time at the ‘Avengers Tower’ as they called it, Tony wouldn’t have to worry about Loki coming around. There was no rule that said he couldn’t be with someone else at all times. And if Loki did come during the night, Tony would be prepared. He wouldn’t be caught off guard again.

And he was pretty sure Clint would be happy to take up on the offer. In the tower after the invasion, at that Shawarma restaurant, and on the way to send Loki back up to Asgard with his brother, he had kind of hit it off with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. The dude was actually pretty funny, when you got to know him. And Tony found that Banner was a pretty great man too. Someone that could hold a conversation with him, at the very least, and good company in the lab, for the brief time he stuck around at least. Anyways, Tony had mentioned the availability of his tower before, and while Banner had politely declined on the Hulk’s behalf, Clint had agreed, but he had never formally invited his new assassin buddy to live in the tower since the Invasion. Plus, he knew just how to hook the archer.

Clint texted him back immediately, _“Rlly bad time tony, im on stealth mission”_

_“Just wanted to ask u if u want to stay n tower? Plz? Just added new archery range and is boring with no one to play COD with…”_

_“U trying to get me caught? Gotta turn off vibrate on this thing”_ was Clint’s reply.

_“Yes or no?!”_

_“Yes”_ was the reply, and Tony sighed in relief. He felt kind of bad for risking whatever Clint’s mission was, but it had to be done. He would have to get that ‘new archery range’ built quickly too...

Another text message popped up, and reading it, Tony pounded his fist on the workbench in frustration.

_“should b back n york n 4 days, dont call or txt any more k?”_

Four days. Four whole days that he had to brave alone. It could be worse though. Four days wasn’t too long to stay awake, right? He needed to get to work. Tony worked all that day and the next on upgrading Jarvis so he couldn’t be fooled again, installing all sorts of sensors all over his penthouse that detected everything from the simple things such as infrared to the more complex sensors that could pick up the most minute amounts of radiation apart from regular background radiation. He was quite proud of himself for that one. He was pretty sure that Loki emitted a significant amount of radiation, based on the readings he had gotten when Loki threw him out the window of his tower. He lived, for those excruciatingly long days, on a disturbing mixture of vodka, scotch, less-than-satisfying peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches courtesy of DUM-E, and shitloads of AC/DC.


	3. Rightfully Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki does what he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Rape/non-con elements

_—==Saturday, April 14th—Friday, April 20th ==—_

Tony Stark finally passed out at midnight on Friday after almost three days with nothing but timed catnaps for sleep. When he woke the next morning at about three in the evening, the majority of the sensors were gone, and Jarvis was insisting that Tony hadn't done much of anything but build suits, lounge around, and watch movies the past few days, which was entirely not true. But Tony couldn't tell him that, instead saying he must have had a really detailed dream, to which Jarvis replied that he was glad the nightmares had stopped.

Which was wrong as well, because that night he'd had The Nightmare. Not the one where he flew the nuke through the portal, but one he hadn't had since before the invasion. He dreamed that he was still being tortured in that cave in Afghanistan. Except this time it was different. Instead of a bearded terrorist holding his head down while Tony cried and gulped for air, it was Loki.

He found a folded piece of parchment on his bathroom sink. Of course it was there; the bathroom was the only place where Jarvis couldn't monitor. Tony didn't exactly want his AI spying while he showered, though he really didn't know why he cared, as Jarvis got to see him having sex with dozens of women back in his heyday.

 _"Admittedly a valiant effort,"_ the note read, _"But please do stop trying to evade me,_ _little mortal. It_ _will get you nowhere. Fret not, I shall return soon to claim what is rightfully mine."_

Tony ripped it into little shreds, trying to summon his fighting spirit, calling on his rage, but all he felt was fear and dread. His hands were shaking and his chest felt too tight. He fought down the beginnings of what he easily recognized now as a panic attack, leaning heavily against the counter and trying to calm his erratic breathing. Loki was coming for him, and there was apparently nothing he could do to stop him.

But Loki didn't show that day, or the next, and neither did Barton. Tony finally received a text on the sixth day after his conversation with the assassin that read, _"_ _So_ _rry m8, jobs taking longer than expected, won_ _’_ _t b_ _back_ _4_ _at least_ _week and half_ _._ _N_ _at asked if she could stay night or_ _2_ _n_ _tower while she_ _’_ _s n_ _y_ _ork, she_ _’ll_ _be there sat early morn."_

Clint wouldn't be there for at least another week and a half, but Natasha would be there by next Saturday morning.

Saturday morning. That was seven days from now. Seven more agonizingly long days, and Loki could show up any minute.

He didn't show up that night.

By Wednesday night, Tony was starting to get hopeful. Maybe Loki was just messing with his brain, and wasn't actually going to show.

By Thursday night, Tony was crossing his fingers and toes. Only one more day. One more day and he was safe.

By midnight on Friday night, Tony was practically jumping for joy.

Natasha had called, and she was actually getting there in the middle of the night. Happy was picking her up and she would be at the tower by 1 AM as long as there were no delays. Loki surely wouldn't cut it that close.

Tony was watching the clock eagerly.

Quarter after.   
Half past, and Happy had already picked her up and was on his way back.  
Quarter ‘til. No way was Loki getting at him tonight! He quit looking at the clock and let himself relax, with more than one drawn-out sigh of relief.  
But of course he was wrong...

Dead wrong.  
He was lying back on his bed, happily fiddling around with some holographic models of his suit, sure that he had successfully outwitted the trickster god, when the projection flickered and went out, leaving Tony in the dark except for the muted glow of his arc reactor through his shirt.

Dammit! He had been _so_ close to freedom!

He froze in panic. Well. So much for Tony Stark being a brave super-hero. He felt the bed shift beside him, and he couldn't move, he was literally paralyzed in terror—something that had never... _never_ happened to him before. Loki would hurt him. He just knew it. How could he not?

Loki sidled up to him in the bed and whispered against his neck, “Good evening, Pet.”

“Not your pet,” Tony grunted out as Loki’s arms wrapped around him. So much for his valiant plan to run for his life until Natasha arrived at the tower.

“Hmm, I disagree,” Loki hissed, “You belong to me, now, little mortal. Signed and sealed. To do with as I see fit.” Tony let out a shocked and fearful huff at that. Who the hell did Loki think he was? Owning Tony Stark. He was insane...

Cool hands slipped inside Tony's shirt and ghosted up his abs. With a strange buzzing sound and a pop, Tony's clothes literally de-materialized off of his body and fell out of thin air beside the bed. Strong arms pulled him close to Loki's chest, which was bare. Skin touched skin, and Tony’s body reacted in ways that he didn’t like. Tony finally managed to unfreeze himself. A little too late now... He wriggled and fought half-heartedly, but Loki held him fast, chuckling and nuzzling his neck. The restraining arms were tight at first, but then they loosened, and Tony felt himself relaxing into Loki, strangely enough. His erratic breathing settled a bit. Loki paused for a moment, almost as though he recognized the fact that Tony had been on the verge of a panic attack, just holding him in place until his chest stopped heaving.

One of Loki's hands traveled up his stomach then, stopping for a moment to tease his nipple, and then slipped between Tony's cheek and the pillow, turning Tony's head so that he was looking into hypnotizing green eyes. They were sparkling with mirth, and at the same time, darkened with lust. Tony shut his eyes trying to escape it all, trying to ignore the fact that Loki’s arousal was pressing against his leg, and it was no small one either. But he found himself opening them again, locking stares with Loki’s laser-like gaze in an attempt at defiance.  
Loki face was then close to his, his thin lips brushing Tony’s gently. He began tugging at his lower lip, and when Tony didn't return the kiss, keeping his lips firmly pressed together, he just stroked the inventor. Tony let out an involuntary puff of surprise, and Loki took the opportunity, slipping his tongue inside his mouth and curling it around Tony's own, sucking and pulling the life out of him, and fuck, Loki was a good kisser. Not that he was ever going to tell him that, though.

Loki's hand tightened around his length suddenly, and began squeezing up and down, sooo tight, and god, it felt so good Tony couldn't help but moan, the sound instantly muffled by Loki's tongue. Loki pulled back, smiling cockily, and letting Tony's head fall back onto the pillow, he shifted him so he was more on his belly than on his side. One of Loki’s legs slipped under his so that he could feel Loki’s arousal against his inner thigh, and locked with his, holding him in place with a force only a demigod could supply. A hand at his stomach kept him bent and in the position that Tony knew would be necessary for...that...to work. Tony actually whined at the sudden loss of the hand on his cock, cutting off the appalling sound abruptly and hating his body for betraying him.“Fuck you,” Tony grunted, clenching his hand in the sheets above his head.

“Quite the opposite,” Loki quipped in return.

Tony felt his other hand slipping over his bare ass, and spreading his legs even further than they had been before. A cool finger brushed his entrance, probing gently at his tight pucker, and Tony jerked his backside away with a shout of outrage. Hell no. He was not submitting to this without a fight. He was Iron Man, not some wanton...

Loki just huffed at his struggling and rising up above Tony, he trapped both of the inventor’s legs, spreading his cheeks wide with one hand, and holding his arms pinned above his head easily with the other.

“Asshole,” Tony said.

Leaning forward, Loki pressed cool, damp kisses to the back of his neck, “So eloquent. Do not fight it, Pet. I intend to have you, but I do not intend to harm you.” Tony turned his head so that he could see what Loki was doing, and caught a glimpse of Loki’s hand glow green in the dim lighting, his fingers suddenly slick with what appeared to be lube.

Well, at least it looked like Loki was going to prepare him first. He remembered that Loki physically couldn’t hurt him, or at least he hoped that part of the contract was valid, and he wondered how the hell Loki was going to get his cock into his ass without it hurting at all.

So hot that I got raped by a god. In my own bed, no less. Well, he was going to have to add that to his list of unwanted achievements.

Fingers brushed his entrance again, and a single slick digit had slipped inside before he could even brace himself. Loki pulled it back, and then slipped it back in slowly, all the way to the knuckle, and a strange fire went coursing through his groin and straight to his throbbing arousal.

Okay…

He was screwed up, he must be, to even be slightly turned on by...by a single finger of a megalomaniac villain. He shuddered, trying to hold back a whimper. It felt strange, but not...terribly painful...yet. He scrunched his eyes shut, trying to focus on only the slight pleasure he got from the sensation. Just the feeling of the small but lengthy intrusion slipping in and out of him. Loki trailed kisses down his back in a way that raised goose bumps, a soothing hand rubbing circles on his hip.

“There, that’s not so bad, is it?” Loki chuckled, and Tony knew that he had to have noticed by now that Tony’s member was hardening rapidly between his legs... embarrassingly so, actually. The crazed god gave him barely any time to adjust to the new, but not entirely unpleasant sensation. After only a few seconds of slowly pistoning the digit, he added a second finger, pumping them rhythmically, and Tony shifted against his sheets. He shivered in horror at the idea of what was coming after Loki expended all of his fingers...Oh fuck, just two was too much...but it did...did feel...okay, he supposed. It stung a little, but not unbearably. Loki scissored the digits apart inside of Tony, stretching him, and it hurt a little less than the thrusting movement he had been doing, and seemed to loosen his tight muscles more efficiently. He tried to reason that slight irritation due to this kind of stretching would be well worth it considering the pain if he was unprepared. And the sting was barely noticeable, because he was too preoccupied with the hand that had returned to his cock. He let out a needy whine, losing his will to control himself, and began thrusting forward into Loki’s hand. If the bitch was going to fuck him against his will, he might as well try to enjoy any pleasure he could get out of the experience. Loki let him, making his hand into a tight ring for Tony to use.

Loki added a third finger, and the addition burned, not so much because of the stretch any more, but just...the god’s nails weren’t exactly cut short... but then he wiggled them around, searching inside of Tony for something. He found it, stroked the sensitive area with the pad of his finger, and then struck it hard, and sudden pleasure surged through him like a bolt of lightning. The pain seemed to fade away entirely under the rush of lust. Holy fucking…

Oh gods, he needed that again.

He gasped, his eyes blown wide, and this time he didn’t thrust into Loki’s hand, instead thrusting back to meet Loki’s fingers, and he got another glancing blow to the sensitive spot inside of him before Loki suddenly removed his fingers with a filthy squelch. Tony whimpered, his asshole fluttering at the sudden absence, and he felt his cheeks burning. What was wrong with him? He had the fingers of a psychopathic demigod forced up his ass, but still...Tony Stark didn’t blush. Then again, he didn’t beg either, but he started doing that too.

“Nnnn...no! Please!” he found himself pleading, unsure of what he was even begging _for,_ and he could just _feel_ Loki’s sadistic grin from behind him, “Do not worry, Pet, I shall not leave you waiting.”

Loki lifted him up so he was on his knees, firm hands locking him in place. Tony tensed. It was happening. Now.

He felt Loki’s cock press at his entrance, but by now, he hardly even cared that he was about to be...raped? He might not have tried his hardest to protest, only saying a weak, “Please,” which could be completely misinterpreted, and Tony kind of wanted it to be. He had to know what it would feel like to have that spot touched again. What the hell had that been? He seemed to recall hearing about guys having a useful thing called a ‘prostate’ from some guy at a bar before...was that it? It had to be…

Loki took it the other way, though, because he chuckled and whispered in his ear, “I _do_ what I want, Anthony. And what I _want_ is _you.”_ And then the too-large intrusion breached his tight ring of muscle, pushing past it ever-so-slowly. Loki gradually eased his arousal into Tony, and fuck, it was so big. His eyes went wide, and his breathing came in small pants between his parted lips. Just when he thought it could go no further, it kept going, filling him so utterly that he couldn’t move a muscle. Finally, it hit home, and Loki paused for a moment like this, allowing Tony a brief moment to take a shuddering breath.

He let out a low moan, “Oh,” almost as if it were a sigh of relief.

“Yes, indeed, pet,” Loki answered, apparently knowing exactly what he meant from that husky one-word whisper, “I know this is what you truly desired, whatever lies you might have been telling yourself. From the first time we bandied words, I knew that you were looking forward to…this.” Loki gave a teasing caress on his cock, still not moving, and Tony half-whimpered.

Because he loved it. Loved how it was stretching him in all the right ways. For no reason under the sun should he like this, but he did. He nearly thought about what his father would think. How disappointed would Howard be, if he knew...No. Stop. His dad was dead, and Tony didn’t believe that those dead and buried could judge him from the grave.

There was only...whatever this was. He had no idea how he was going to hold out once Loki started moving.

“Relax, pet, you’re so tense,” Loki chided gently. The trickster pulled back, agonizingly slow, sucking on his neck until the skin bruised, and Tony let out a filthy moan, “F.ff..fuuuuck...Loki.”

The god gradually increased his pace to a steady rhythm, but never hit his prostate directly. It felt good, so good, Tony wanted, needed more. He let himself relax into the familiar sounds of breathy gasps and slapping skin...except everything was different this time around. Breathtakingly different.

He had no idea why he had been fighting earlier. It was in that moment of the basest of acts, of being dominated by another man, that he realized how much he had been missing out on. It no longer mattered to him that he had been maneuvered into this, that he, the all-powerful Tony Stark, was bottoming for another male. He had already let go, and it left him in a blissful state of acceptance. His muscles tensed and he met Loki’s thrusts, no longer caring that it was Loki who was slamming into his backside, Loki the criminal who was...raping him? Hell, if an almost-god wanted to pleasure him, who was he to disagree? And fuck, it was pleasure, alright.

The friction of Loki’s skin against his burned despite the slickness aiding the intrusion. Loki wasn’t hurting him, but he was certainly not being gentle either. Tony shuddered at the idea, but not necessarily out of revulsion: he was being taken hard and fast, on his hands and knees, being fucked into the mattress even, by a hot...ahem, somewhat-attractive demigod…God, why was that idea even slightly appealing to him? He _had_ wondered before what it would be like to be on the receiving end, to be roughly taken like he often did to the ladies. And now here he was, being penetrated for the first time, impaled upon another man’s cock, unbelievably turned on and entirely helpless, and damn, he just wanted more. The glancing blows only dulled the sour-sweet edge of pain, but then Loki’s hand was back around his weeping arousal like the answer to his silent plea, and the slight sting was instantly forgotten.

Loki paused momentarily, lifting Tony’s ass into the air with a bruising grip, and thrust in harder than ever, pulling Tony down onto himself with a powerful hand on his hip and filling Tony past the breaking point, The drive hit his prostate spot on, and Tony screamed, his vision bursting with bright streaks, a wave of pleasure surging through his entire body. Loki resumed his punishing pace, abusing the sensitive bundle of nerves. His toes curled, and his fingers grabbed frantically at the silky sheets. A string of unintelligible gibberish flew from his mouth, “mmnbh..Fuck!….Loki...ngghh...gah..so...so..close..I…mmmngh….”

There was nothing in the world but Loki pounding into him, their hot slick skin colliding, and Loki’s hands squeezing his hips, and Loki’s mouth, sucking at the soft skin of his neck. He surrendered his body to Loki, and it was the sweetest surrender there could be.  
"Tell me...who you belong to," Loki grunted out between thrusts. Tony didn’t answer at first, couldn’t answer, his thoughts were so jumbled, just moaning incoherently in response. The god’s mouth came close to Tony’s ear, warm breath brushing up against his skin in a way that was too much to handle right now...and then Loki’s fingers were squeezing his cock, denying his release, but Tony was so far gone, in such heaven already, that he wondered how an orgasm could be any better than this right now. He felt like he was about to die, and maybe he was...it was just so much.

“Mmm, yes, I know it feels good, but I want you to answer me, love,” Loki whispered in his ear, sweet and low, in contrast with the brutal pounding he was currently receiving from behind. He must have been taking every inch of the god’s arousal, because he felt the firm outline of Loki’s hips meet with his at the end of every thrust, his own hips slotting into the notch of Loki’s pelvis in a deliciously dirty way, just as Loki’s length was completely filling him, pressing hard into that incredible little spot inside of him that made his mind go blank. Then Loki pulled out again and he remembered what was happening just long enough to think, ‘oh, fuck’ and have the process repeat again in an endless cycle of pure bliss. So, so much.  
"y..you...nnngh...L..Loki," he finally gasped out, and Loki chuckled, nuzzling his neck and whispering a harsh, possessive “Mine...” and Tony could only moan his agreement. “Y...yours…nngh...fuck....nnngh! LOKI!” he cried in response, without even thinking about it, and the words came naturally.  
Seemingly satisfied, Loki pulled almost all the way out of him and slammed back in, giving his throbbing cock one swift stroke at the same time, sending him over the edge into oblivion. The world exploded in flashing light, his mind going blank with pleasure, and he emptied himself into Loki’s hand, painting the already-pale fingers white with his semen. His body shook and his walls clenched around Loki’s length, and it was enough to send Loki over the edge too, the god letting out a throaty moan and releasing his hot seed deep within the inventor. The feeling was strange, to say the least, feeling the burning liquid splash his insides, marking him as Loki’s property. You’re mine, Loki was saying, and Tony wasn’t going to argue any more. _Wear it proudly, Anthony, and remember that you are mine alone._

Loki pulled out of him while he was still shaking with the force of his orgasm, and cleaned them both up with what Tony could only call magic, leaving Tony alone in the dark once again, still coming off his high. His tensing muscles relaxed, his ragged breathing slowed, and he felt his eyes slowly drifting shut. He was slick with sweat, and he knew his still feebly clenching hole was gaping, but he felt satisfied, like a cat after a nice long nap in the sun.

Twice Loki had come, and so far he'd given him the best blowjob he'd ever had, and then fucked him in a way Tony had never even really considered trying before, and succeeded in giving him the best sex and the most intense orgasm of his entire life. He could never sleep with a reporter again, not after this...Forget women, he knew what he needed now: fucking men. But...not just any man...

However crazy it might sound, however much he might not be thinking the same thing in the morning after the post-coital bliss faded, as of right now, all he wanted was a certain green-eyed god who could rut like an animal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony was mostly upset because Loki was trying to take from him as the 'villain' and as a man when he felt like he was confident in his sexuality and he was afraid to try bottoming. He didn't trust that Loki, as the bad guy, would not hurt him. He obviously isn't too particular about where he gets his sex. Attraction wasn't the problem, as you will see in later chapters. It was internalized homophobia that was driving his fear, and outrage at the fact that Loki was admittedly blackmailing him. He doesn't like to be told what to do, by anyone. But still, questionable morality. And rape is not acceptable, ever, and this admittedly borders on rape, and could definitely be interpreted as rape. I'll let you decide. Did I mention Loki has issues? Hopefully you will forgive him! :)
> 
> Also, you thought this smut chapter was long? Just you wait for the next few...the fluff comes way later, when it comes to Tony Stark.


	4. Hooked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's thoughts run wild, and he makes an interesting decision.

_—==Saturday, April 21st==—_

He fell asleep, still lying in the exact position Loki had left him, and didn't wake once. The next morning, Jarvis informed him that Happy and Natasha had gotten held up in parking-lot traffic for some event that went on all night, and had arrived shortly after he fell asleep...messing around with holograms.

Tony though back over the events of the previous night, and found he wasn't scared anymore. If _that_ was what Loki was going to do every time he visited, Tony decided that he didn't really mind all that much. Occasionally sleeping with the enemy? Why the heck not, it's not like he had much more sanity to lose.

Natasha didn't say anything but good morning when he walked into the kitchen to make himself some coffee, so Tony left her alone. She didn't look up from her newspaper and continued eating her cereal, even when Tony stubbed his toe on the counter and cursed colorfully.

"Thanks for letting me stay," she finally said as he sipped his coffee and signed some papers regarding budget cuts and where to spend and donate, and blah, blah, blah, nobody cares. For how good he was at managing a business, he could care less about finance. Give him gears and wires and some good old machine grease any day of the week. Still, even that bore wasn’t enough bring him down to Earth today, now that the stress from last week was finally gone. Well, for the most part, at least.

He looked up, finding himself smiling, and not because of any magic, and surprised himself by saying, "Anytime. If we're going to call it the Avengers Tower, the Avengers might as well stay in it."

A movement caught his eye from the window of the tower and he snorted to himself as a goose flapped by outside.

What? How even?! Birds never came up this high, much less geese. Crazy bird...

Tony would have never seen what happened next if he hadn’t been looking out the window still. A flash of green caught his eye and he gasped. Loki was there, glowing emerald and floating in midair.

Tony choked on his coffee. Loki winked smartly. Green mist swirled around him and formed a single word: WATCH

Tony glanced over at Nat, but she wasn’t paying any attention, busily reading.

He returned his gaze to Loki, who was smiling, almost...sadly? He extracted a scroll from a satchel on his side, unrolled it dramatically, and pressed it to the window.

It was the contract. Tony frowned. Hadn’t that burned up? Then again, he’d been more preoccupied with the searing pain of being branded then worrying about the fate of a piece of parchment. Loki half-smiled at his expression, and made a show of ripping it in half a few times. He mouthed, “Your choice,” before swooping away.

Tony was left staring at the shreds of yellowy parchment floating lazily down, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Loki...had he just…broken the contract?

He had been able to do that the entire time? That meant he could have ripped it in half, and killed Tony anytime he wanted. Then again, he had broken into the tower with ease, so he could have just done that to begin with, without all the hassle. Apparently he had just wanted Tony for the sex, knowing he could break the contract whenever he felt like it.”

Tony huffed, and felt his collarbone. The brand was still there, still sore. Was the contract broken, or was Loki just messing with his head?

“Hey N-Ro,” he started, “Can we talk?”

Natasha looked up, “Sure.”

“So, I’ve been having an unwanted visitor in the tower recently,” Tony started.

Yes! He was able to say what he wanted so far!

“Who’s that?” Natasha asked, folding her newspaper.

“Loki,” Tony said without hesitation, and inwardly cheered. Then he started having second thoughts.

“Excuse me?” Nat cried, “He’s supposed to be in a prison in Asgard.”

Did he want to give Loki away? So far, he hadn’t hurt anyone. If anything, he had given Tony better sleep for two nights now. Thor had said that Asgardians didn’t contract or carry human diseases, so it wasn’t like he was going to get an STD from going unprotected. Did he really want to give this up? Did he?!

He made a split second decision to backtrack, “No, no, I meant in my nightmares. I’ve uh, been having some erotic nightmares lately.”

“How is a nightmare erotic?” the former assassin was now giving him the ‘I hate dealing with overgrown children’ look.

Tony sighed, “Uh…Loki’s been raping me...in my nightmares I mean.”

Natasha took the news with a straight face, finally taking him seriously. He hoped that she didn’t suspect the real truth, but the rational voice in his head was screaming, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

“Why do you think that is?” she prompted gently, but professionally, “Did he do anything to suggest sexual attraction during the invasion?”

“No...I think it’s me…” Tony said slowly, “Is there something wrong with thinking the enemy is really hot?”

He wasn’t entirely lying. Loki certainly wasn’t an eyesore. And maybe, maybe he thought he was hot. It wasn’t like Tony had ever had a good look at his body through all the armor, but he certainly felt strong from behind. His face was good to look at, and maybe, just maybe Tony had been a bit attracted beforehand. Maybe. Maybe his fear had been irrational. But why? Why was this all happening? His thoughts flashed back to the confrontation with Loki in his penthouse. Oh God.

Surely Loki hadn’t noticed _that._

Loki tapped that blade on Tony’s arc reactor, expecting it to take over his mind like it did to Barton. It didn’t.

“This usually works,” Loki hissed, and tried again, with similar results.

Then, like an idiot, Tony insulted his machinery. He realized he had struck a wrong chord when the demigod’s face lit up with a blazing fury. Tony flinched, waited for the imminent scepter-through-the-chest fate like Phil Coulson, but instead got a crushing grip on his jawline and a highly chiseled face altogether too close to his own, hissing words that Tony wasn’t really listening to at the time because, fuck, the sudden movement of that lithe body in leathers, like a snake striking, and then those eyes…an unsettling icy blue in his memories...that wasn’t right. But still, the intensity of those eyes did it for him. And then, that venomous voice hissing at him as the God...choked him? Well, more like smashed his chin, which didn’t feel the best and certainly left a bruise later, but Tony’s dick still got confused at the rough handling...strange, because he never had really been into pain-play. Well, to be fair, he had never tried it.

He had tried to blame his partial erection on the fact that he had just been drinking, and Loki _had_ just brushed his crotch with his thigh when he stepped in closer (yes, he was that much taller, unfortunately) but he knew he was just fooling himself.

And even stranger, he remembered feeling...something…at Loki’s touch. And it was as if Loki did too. For a brief second, Loki just glared at him without saying anything. His grip on his face loosened slightly, and Tony’s relieved jaw muscles relaxed a bit, and Tony remembered gulping, feeling his Adam’s apple bob against Loki’s wrist as they locked eyes. He was half sure he imagined it...a split-second flicker of green in Loki’s irises, like a reflection of something outside the window, and a softening of his expression. Just like his old brain had the memory of Loki’s eye color wrong. Hey, he had lost oxygen when he put that nuke into space, and he had kind of tried to forget everything leading up to the victory. Sue him. Not that his plan was working very well, but he could try, right?

He had seen something, though, or at least felt something odd, and for some ungodly reason, his lower regions liked it. But it wasn’t as though his confused sex drive was not immediately reminded of the situation when the guy spat something at him before chucking him out the window.

Had Loki noticed though? It was barely a millisecond rush of heat, not even enough to create a bulge...how the hell could he have known? But he must have.

Why else would he come back for him?

 _Get real,_ his internal voice scoffed at himself. _Loki probably had other plans on Earth, and you were a side attraction. Because he’s a diva, so of course he’d go for the most powerful man on the planet, his enemy and an Avenger, just to prove that he can. He’ll gloat about this now, won’t he? He’ll show the Avengers a video of him fucking Tony fucking Stark on his hands and knees and their teammate moaning like some whore for him. You know he will._

He felt suddenly jealous and angry. How many other people had Loki dominated in the same way over the centuries? And why the hell did he care?

In that penthouse, he had wanted something, though. He had wanted the attractive male in front of him, if only for a brief second, without even really realizing it. He was maybe, slightly, just a tiny bit gay before this all happened.

That was a revelation.

And somehow, Loki knew. He knew, and he had turned Tony’s tiny urge into a full-blown fantasy come true. Wow, was he really thinking that?

That didn’t mean he was okay with Loki blackmailing him into that fantasy, but if he had to have sex with a guy, at least it was a really good looking one. The only reason why he was not still fighting was the looks and the intrigue. Honestly.

“Stark?” Nat finally asked, and then Tony remembered. He didn’t have to have sex with Loki.

He had just chosen it. He could get out at any time still, or at least he hoped, but for now he had chosen to lie. He couldn’t explain why he had done it either.

“Well, is there?” he demanded.

Nat sighed, “No, Stark. There’s not. Just, don’t do anything stupid because of it.”

After a minute, she added, “If we do have to fight him again, it might be better for everyone if you stay out of the action. You just have to remember that he doesn’t really share the same attraction.”

Tony nodded absentmindedly. Natasha was right about all but one thing.

He had already done something incredibly stupid because of the attraction, and it would most certainly be better for him to stay out of a fight with the guy if there was one. But she was very, very wrong about the last part...

Loki definitely shared the attraction. He had to, or Tony couldn’t bear the thought.

And maybe, maybe Tony did too, at least in a sexual sense. He couldn’t really be blamed for daydreaming about Loki during his press meeting later that day. He nearly got a hard on in the middle of the board room just thinking about the tall man’s sultry voice in his ear as he took his pleasure from him...oh God, there was something seriously wrong with him, wasn’t there?

He also couldn’t be blamed for thinking about Loki embedded deep within him, the god’s hips snapping forward and then pulling back ever so slowly as he took him, those hypnotizing emerald eyes when the god turned his cheek to catch his gaze...and gods, that tongue invading his mouth in a dominating kiss, while touching himself that night. He propped. himself up on the pillows, shutting his eyes, and wrapping a calloused palm around his length. He shivered at his own cold touch, slowly sliding his hand along his cock until it was at full attention. He let his mouth fall open as he tightened his grip, moaning lightly as he squeezed down his length, and back up, skin bunching up against his fingers. He paused to spit in his hand, returning it quickly to his heated arousal, cool saliva mixing with the pre-cum at his tip. And while he jerked himself off, eyes scrunched shut, he saw Loki’s body, which he had never really seen, but could imagine nonetheless in his mind’s eye. Lithe, lean, and handsome, porcelain skin flawless, abs glistening with sweat and...fuck...that half-formed picture was almost enough to get him there by itself. He really was gay, wasn’t he? Who would have thought?

Tony hardly spared a glance when the lamplight became distorted like a faint mirage on the wall for the briefest of moments. Little did he know that green-eyed god he was dreaming about was standing there invisibly with a triumphant smirk curving his lips, watching intently as the short, goateed mortal pleasured himself while thinking about him.

The fish had been hooked.


	5. You Were Made for This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's about to get steamy, folks...

_—==Monday, April 23==—_

Loki didn’t show again for a couple of days, however, and Tony began to wonder whether this was all a huge joke. If it was, well, he hated being the victim.

You don’t want him to come back anyways, you can’t possibly want that, he thought to himself, but it was no use, it seemed. It was one thing to enjoy what he could get out of the forced sex...it was another thing entirely to _want_ it. But damn, every other minute his brain was jumping back to two nights ago, remembering that overwhelming sensation that he realized that he would never be able to replicate. He wondered if he could use his hands, anything to quench that fire burning in his lower regions, but as he soon discovered, a finger or two was simply not enough. He shuddered at the feeling of preparing himself, rather than having someone else do it...fuck, was he really...touching himself like that now? But damn, lying down on his deep-maroon sheets, one hand wrapped tightly around his cock, and the other…He curled his lubed fingers like Loki had done, searching, and finally found the happy button deep within him, but he couldn’t seem to hit it right with just his hand.

“Tell me,” Loki’s smooth, satiny voice was suddenly right next to him, and Tony’s eyes flew open. He jumped to see Loki’s face near his, stopping what he was doing with an embarrassed and then irritated glare.

Loki just smiled, as usual, “You want something. What is it?”

He couldn’t deny that he liked the slight huskiness of Loki’s voice, the low thrum of lust barely detectable, but definitely there.

“Nothing,” he said, “I don’t want…”

“Were you opening yourself up for me, darling?” Loki asked.

“No.” Tony grunted, pulling up the covers. He couldn’t believe he was so weak. Yet…

He had said it last night, he already knew it to be true, despite his automatic denial. He already belonged to Loki, or at least his mind did. Ever since that night, Loki was all he could think about. And his body wanted it too...He needed that feeling again like he needed air.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t still a bit scared now that he was face to face with the devilishly attractive god again, and highly embarrassed to have been caught fingering himself.

“Who were those lovely little moans for then, hmm? Surely not for someone else?”

Tony sighed shakily, whispering a meek, “no.” He wanted to bury his face in the pillow and hide. Him, Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy who had always been blatantly bold both in the bedroom and out, now reduced to a shy, nervous wreck, and in front of his enemy no less.

“Then I would suggest that you keep doing what you were doing,” Loki said, voice suddenly harsh. Tony flinched a little. A smirk broke the dangerous, dark expression after a moment, though, and Tony relaxed. That...was not much of a request right? God, it was hard to make himself obey. He was so used to being in control, and it was one thing to be manhandled and fucked against..somewhat against his will. It was another thing entirely to comply with this...this...voyeuristic shit, displaying himself in such a naughty way for Loki’s pleasure. He tentatively reached behind his back, again, gulping and shivering as he slipped a lubed finger back inside of himself. Loki watched with cool, calculating eyes, terrifyingly still as Tony pistoned his finger. Tony tried to look away, but found himself locking eyes with the god anyways, studying those eyes. They were beautiful, despite being slightly terrifying. He gasped a little louder than before when he decided to add another digit, and by three, he was shivering with want and hunger. Just the thought of the god was getting him riled up, and having Loki standing in front of him, watching him fuck himself with his own fingers? Tony wasn’t sure whether he was terrified, embarrassed, or aroused. Maybe a combination of all three.

“Is that three fingers for me, pet?” Loki crooned, and Tony nodded, feeling like a sixteen-year-old virgin again under the god’s intense gaze.

“Tell me what you want, Stark.”

“I don’t want anything,” he said stubbornly, but he couldn’t make himself stop what he was doing, slipping his fingers in and out of himself easily now, and hell, he was so turned on already that it was far too late for him. But he certainly wasn’t going to beg for it. If Loki wanted it, Loki would take it. He had already made that perfectly clear.

“Ah, of course. You do remember that you speak to the God of Lies, yes? You crave _something,_ mortal, and you long for it with a desire that is worth commending. I pride myself in being able to read people, and you, Tony Stark, are oh-so-easy to pick apart. I know what you really want, you hide nothing…”

Tony shuddered at that thought, another chill going down his spine and straight to his cock when Loki growled in his ear, “So go ahead and tell me...ask it of me.”

“I...I want you.” Tony finally said, and there was a silence other than Loki moving. He didn’t dare look up, for fear of betraying emotions that he was struggling to hide by now. Then Loki’s hand was turning his head to stare into his eyes once more.

“It is a good start,” Loki drawled, voice syrupy sweet, “But I’m going to need a little more information, I’m afraid.”

A hand was on his cock, and Tony startled, and then yelped when a sudden tightness cut off his circulation. He looked down, and a flash of fear thrilled him when he saw the cock ring Loki had just given him. Where the hell had the Asgardian gotten _that_ from? It was tight, too tight. Terror cut his breath short, and he recognized the beginning of a panic attack. This shit was not what he had signed up for…well, to be fair, he hadn’t really been sure what he had been signing up for, but he hadn’t exactly had this in mind.

“Shopping at the local ‘naughty secrets’ store?” Tony jested weakly, trying to control his breathing. He realized that he was entirely at Loki’s mercy now that the contract was gone, and that meant that Loki might hurt him...and he didn’t have a safe word or an way out either. Fear really gripped him at that realization.

“Relax, Pet, you are overthinking things,” Loki sighed, tilting his chin up. Tony gulped at that intense stare, but it was almost like a lifeline now. Loki’s gaze didn’t hold terror or malice. “Do you trust me?”

Of course he didn’t. God of Lies, he had said it himself. No one in their right mind would trust the…the bastard, that was what he was. A bastard that was very well-versed in the art of seduction.

“I…don’t know,” Tony found himself muttering.  
“Good. You won’t be coming until I say so.” Loki smirked, “And I cannot help you, sweet, unless you tell me exactly what you need.”

Tony gulped, trying to organize his thoughts as Loki’s hands explored his body, teasing him until his brain was a scrambled egg, “I...I um…I want to…”

A brush down his spine, fingers dancing along his ass and thighs, Loki playing him like a piano, and he could barely think through the rush of lust. His inhibitions danced away, one by one, and he knew that Loki could see his weakness.

“I want you to fuck me,” Tony stated. Did he really just say that aloud? Oh damn, he couldn’t hold out with Loki touching him like this. Yes, he was initially outraged at being reduced to property, but now? Now the thought of “belonging” to Loki, at least in a sexual sense, was slowly growing on him. If Loki was going to bring such fucking amazing sex every time he came...even if Tony didn’t want to be gay...ugh, it was his choice, his sex life right? He wasn’t sure if he could ever be happy with a plain old news reporter again, now that he knew how _this_ felt. It was just a few minutes of sex every few days…that couldn’t even be considered fraternizing with the enemy, really. Still, he felt like an unmanly, cowardly traitor to the team...oh _damn_ though, he couldn’t focus on that right now.

“Now, that was not so hard, was it? ” Loki teased, “And how would you like that, darling? Come now, beg for it. Beg for me to take you.”

Seriously? He had to beg for it...oh gods, Loki was a bitch...He had to consider for a minute.

“Please?” he finally tried, trying to crush his pride, and finding it very, very difficult, “Please fuck me?” He couldn’t believe he was asking for it now...asking for something he had been forced to endure originally, something that had terrified him for several days on end, and now he wanted it...

“Hmm,” Loki pretended to consider the request, “I think, no.”

Tony whined, as Loki brushed a finger along down the underside of his weeping cock, “But I said please…what more do you want before you get around to…”

“Not until you tell me exactly _how_ you want it, pet,” Loki whispered close to him, cool breath tickling his ear, “I know you want something more than simplistic intercourse, am I correct?” a sudden stinging blow to his buttocks, and Tony let out a startled yelp, and then hissed at the pain of his throbbing arousal, beginning to curve upward towards his stomach and quickly turning an angry red color from the blood flow.

“ For all the fame and power you have, you crave something else. You long for nothing more than to be subjugated...Tell me your wishes in detail, Stark, and you will find that I can be a most benevolent god.”

Another teasing stroke and a cool palm soothing over his tingling backside and Tony finally let out a moan. The hell with this. He knew...knew exactly what he wanted. He was just too proud to say it, but he couldn’t take it anymore.

And yet, through all the frustration he realized that he was the most turned-on he had ever been in his life. With every passing moment, the ache of his arousal seemed to strengthen a strange buzz of euphoria in his mind.

“Make me beg for you. Tease me if that’s what you want to do. Then, when I can’t even think straight anymore, just take me…” a shaky breath, “Dominate me...oh hell, just fuck me hard, please!” Tony babbled, not entirely sure of what he was saying anymore. Oh God, had he really just told Loki to dominate him...to make him beg? Had he lost his...yes, yes he had. And for some reason, he was okay with that.

“Ah, that is more like it,” Loki chuckled, “My, my, though. Those things do sound tempting,” he received a wink at that, “ I might just have to take you up on your offer to truly take you roughly. You seem rather resilient... for a mortal. But for now, I’m thinking that I would rather tease you until you plead for your release. You do beg so prettily.”

Tony gulped, wondering whether blurting out such a lust-driven statement had been the best of ideas after all. Maybe he should just keep his mouth shut for once.

Or maybe not, because then Loki was kissing him again, his lips slammed against Tony’s own in fierce dominance and tongue invading his mouth mercilessly. The kiss lasted for so long that Tony was left gasping for air when the taller man finally pulled away, the buzz in his head leaving him dizzy and helpless.

Of course the god took advantage of his confusion. A small shuffle of movement, Loki leaving him for a moment, and when he returned, cool hands encircled his throat from behind, and he felt the weight of chilly metal tug at his neck. He heard a click. Loki had collared him. Like an animal.

And then he knew he was screwed, because fuck if that didn’t make him even more hopelessly turned on.

He imagined what it would be like to be dominated by Loki again, but this time, he saw himself chained and collared, Loki holding onto the chain as he ruthlessly took him, pulling his head back so that he could hiss in his ear, fucking him so hard that he wouldn’t be able to stand up the next morning, whispering filthy encouragement into his ear in that deliciously dirty voice all the while, his sultry voice alone soothing over any pain.

“Mine,” he would hiss again, and Tony wouldn’t even be able to respond this time.

Then, a cloth was placed over his eyes. He was scared for a moment, thoughts flashing back to Afghanistan, but Loki’s voice was there again, calming him, and he strained toward the words, his anchor to reality.

“Do you trust me, my sweet? You can, you know. With or without the contract, I promise to only bring you pleasure….even if you don’t initially recognize it as such,” Loki soothed.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“You shall see what I mean in a moment,” Loki murmured, answering his unspoken question, “Trust me on this, Anthony.”

Oh God...had the guy just used his real name again? He hated being called Anthony— no one called him that anyways—but the way Loki pronounced it, like he was savoring every syllable of the word as he spoke it, Tony almost liked it. He had never heard anyone use his name like that before, that was for sure.

“Okay?” Tony asked, and then Loki’s hands were teasing him again. Then the same gentle hands were taking his own, placing cuffs on his wrists.

“Sit up, Pet,” Loki ordered, and Tony blindly obeyed, sitting upright on his knees on the bed and allowing Loki to pull his hands above his head, his arms pointed up and out in a v-shape. He heard two consecutive thuds above him, like Loki was hitting the ceiling, and then clinks at his wrists, unyielding force now keeping them spread out and upright, and he realized he had been chained to the ceiling. The terror had kind of faded, now, and he was able to convince himself that Loki had a sexy reason for doing all this kinky shit. He would feel good in the end, right? Even if he was uncomfortable now, and kind of irritated by the fact that Loki had probably just put holes in his ceiling. A hand slipped down his side, and Loki chuckled in that evil-sounding, yet strangely attractive laugh: the ‘ehehehe’ one, “Oh, if only you knew how delectable you look like this, Stark. Yes indeed.”

Loki’s grip slid down his cock, the god thumbing at the end, and then a hand was on his stomach, pushing against it as leverage as something chilly and very not-human was pressing at his entrance with unyielding force. What the hell _was_ that? He hissed at the flare of pain as the huge rubbery object finally slipped into him with a sickening pop and came to rest just short of his prostate.

Holy fuck, had Loki just shoved a rubber ball up his ass? The sex toy must have been huge, not quite as long as Loki, but so wide around... at least the pain had mostly gone away now that it was past his entrance. Loki let go of him and he fell limp in the chains, gasping at the intrusion. He shifted, grimacing at the sheer size of the chilly object inside of him and trying not to freak out. He let out a fearful, pained whine.

“Shh,” Loki soothed, rubbing the small of his back, and Tony tried to let himself relax again, “You are doing so well.” Another brush to his arousal had him moaning again.

“One last thing, pet,” Loki said, “Tilt your head back for me.”

Tony angled his head, but Loki harrumphed, apparently not satisfied. Something cold and thin and long brushed his back. Loki tugged at his hair, but not roughly. He pressed on Tony’s back at the same time, effectively forcing it into an arch. A click echoed in the silence, and there was a sudden pressure on his neck that hadn’t been there before. Then there was an accompanying pressure on the plug that caused it to brush his prostate, and he let out a tiny moan. Oh gods, he wanted this. Fuck, it was torture, though. Loki’s hands brushed his skin, but were soon removed.

“There. Finished now,” Loki chuckled, pressing a last kiss right beneath his ear. There was a shuffle of movement and then near-silence.

Tony faltered, not daring to move a muscle despite the fact that this position was highly uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he tried to move his neck, or if he even could.

“Uh, Loki?” he stuttered.

No response. Loki was walking away from him, from the sound of his footsteps. Fuck, was he just leaving him here?

“Shit, don’t leave me like this, please,” Tony begged, “I’m a middle-aged human with the beginnings of arthritis, not some professional contortionist. If you leave me like this, I’m not going to still be turned on when you come back.”

Loki barked laughter, “Oh, on the contrary, I believe you will find it very difficult to become un-aroused. I have business to attend to; I will be back shortly. Try to enjoy yourself, hmm?”

The sound of the door shutting quietly, and then silence.

Tony sighed shakily. He could handle this, right? A little waiting wasn’t going to kill him. He shifted, hoping Loki wasn’t going to be mad if he didn’t stay in the bent-back position, and nearly yelped.

Oh God.

He quickly moved his neck back into the tilted position, gasping from the sudden spike against his prostate from the toy in his backside. That was when he realized with awestruck horror that his collar was connected to the plug by a just-too-short metal rod that must have had a hook of sorts on the end.. If he didn’t keep his neck back, the plug was pulled up into him with brutal accuracy, nailing his prostate dead on. Of all the sadistic, scarily clever things... He unbent himself, tilting his head forward tentatively again, and groaned as the plug ground against the sensitive spot inside of him, and simultaneously, the collar choked him a bit. Damn, that was good. But after only a few seconds, he realized that pleasure quickly turned to torture. His arousal was already giving painful throbs from the stimulation...and then the toy inside of him came to life. He jolted back as the device buzzed right up against his happy button, mouth gaping. Holy shit, that felt weird!

It stopped vibrating when it wasn’t touching again, and Tony sighed in relief. Maybe he would have sought the feeling again...it felt great, just...different, but fuck, he couldn’t. If the pressure building in his stomach increased anymore, he was pretty sure he would explode.

His neck began aching after a few minutes. Then his back muscles began tensing up painfully. He accidently let himself relax for a split second, and the toy nailed his prostate again, vibrations stimulating the bundle of nerves in an unbelievable way. He whimpered, hissing at the accompanying pain in his groin, legs quivering at the buzzing inside of him, and fuck, it was so tempting to just stay like that. To allow that wicked little device to have him, to give in to the overwhelming sensation and let himself lose his mind in the strange bliss, but the ache of his balls quickly reminded him that he wasn’t coming any time soon. He was half convinced that he would die if he became turned on any more.

“Fuck, Loki, I can’t,” he whispered.

Silence. Loki really was gone, wasn’t he? He wasn’t sure how much longer he could endure this.

“Loki, please,” he begged, sobbing as he slipped up again and the device gave another round of torturous pleasure. His neck was on fire, and his leg muscles were getting tired now too. Just to be sure he wasn’t exaggerating how long he was being left here, he began counting his breaths.

He was up to 457 when he began to get woozy. He lost count at around 540, and then picked up a few minutes later, somewhere in the late 700s.

He let himself uncoil a little a few times, trying to ease the pain, and whimpered at the strange, mind-numbing feeling. He tried to resume counting, but he honestly wasn’t sure where he was anymore. Time seemed to come to a halt. Everywhere ached, his arousal most of all, and his muscles were straining. He soon found out that trying to lay down, or rather hang from the chains, had the same effect as tilting forward...more agonizing teasing from the sadistic vibrator. It must have been connected to the ceiling too.

Soon enough, his muscles were entirely giving out on him. He made a half-hearted effort to remain upright, calves burning as he tried to sit up, before falling forward again. The pleasure made him blank out, and he fell for the trap with stuttering moans, letting himself relax as the ache was relieved and the pleasure humming deep in his core made heat course through him. But the pleasure soon turned sour-sweet from his denied release. Even through the frustration, though…it was as though it just heightened the feeling.

He whimpered and moaned, leaned forward more often now than he could summon the strength to sit up and bend back any more. Fuck, fuck, fuck...The device was almost constantly stimulating his prostate now, and his stream of thought ended.

And then, a strange form of bliss started to make itself apparent as he fell forward and let the device do its worst. He made yet another half-hearted effort to remain upright, muscles spasming in a last desperate move to escape the torment, before he finally hung limp from the chains, head hanging forward in defeat. His whole body shivered with exertion, sweat dripping off his hot skin, and his involuntary shuddering only heightened the power of the wicked vibrating object jammed against that sensitive bundle of nerves. The lines between pleasure and pain faded, swirling together in his addled mind, until all he felt was ecstasy.

And it still never ended.

By the time Loki returned, Tony was gone; nothing but a twitching mess of sweaty limbs remained. Weak moans and broken whimpers poured from his lips, shudders wracking his loose form occasionally as he hung limp in the chains and lost himself in the blessed torture.

“Oh, my…you look positively wrecked,” Loki crooned, “Do you like that toy I got for you, my sweet?”

The god stroked his aching arousal and Tony could do nothing but whimper more. Then the god was unhooking the chains on the ceiling, Tony letting out a sigh as the pressure on his neck and the plug were relieved, and gently sweeping him up in his arms, hot tongue licking at his slick, glistening skin. He laid Tony down in a slumped-over position, taking a smooth, thin piece of cloth and binding his hands, and moved his attention to the inventor’s shoulder blades, before licking and biting a trail down to his hip.

“So perfect for me…” Loki hissed against his thigh, and Tony shivered and spread his legs in a show of submission, surely exposing the tip of the plug peeking out of his reddened pucker. The cold air provided strange contrast to his heated flesh.

Loki chuckled, “You want me to...ah…” Loki’s attention was then on that devilish object buried in the inventor still, giving it a twist, and Tony made a truly broken cry. Loki thrust the plug deeper into him a few times, before slipping it out of his stretched hole with considerably less pain than the first time.

His relief was short-lived, however, as Loki plunged straight into his already abused backside. His cries turned strangled, and he felt woozy, he was so high on the pain and the pleasure. Oh gods...fuck.

Loki was quickly building the tempo, moaning now too, and all Tony had to do to please him was provide his slack, pliant body to be taken, and lose himself in bliss.

It wasn’t long before Loki was coming with a breathy groan, biting Tony’s shoulder hard enough to bruise as he pumped liquid into the inventor. He slowed to deep, languid thrusts, milking out his own orgasm, and fear and anger jolted Tony awake from his mindless stupor.

The fucking bastard forgot about him...fuck, he had never even removed the cock ring. Tony huffed and let out angry whine of betrayal.

All that, for a hand job if he was lucky?

“Why?” he barely managed to gasp out.

“Shh,” Loki soothed, and then his cool tongue was flicking over the bruise mark he had just made, “I am not through with you yet.”

Tony inhaled sharply, eyes rolling back behind the blindfold at the feeling of Loki literally hardening again inside of his already-wrecked ass. Oh, that was _so_ unfair.

Loki was quickly pounding him into the mattress again, and he was fucked swiftly through a second, and then third orgasm. Holy shit, godly stamina was absurd. They came a lot, too… Loki’s release kept his insides slick and prepared, functioning as an efficient lubricant. Hot liquid ran down between his legs in rivulets and his own cock responded expectantly. Loki’s hips were stuttering now, and his breathing came in heavy pants. He hadn’t touched Tony yet, or removed the cruel thing restricting his cock, but Tony couldn’t speak to protest through the unbelievable pounding.

“Oh...my sweet, sweet Anthony...you feel _exquisite_ ,” Loki breathed in his ear as he kept up the brutal pace, and then he was tugging Tony’s lolling head back with the collar, cutting his breath short, and it was everything Tony had ever imagined and so much more. All of his senses narrowed down to one feeling, just Loki in between every thrust, in between every mind-wiping snap of the god’s hips. Loki. Loki. He was unsure if he was whispering the god’s name aloud, or if it was just in his head.

And then, to complete his heaven, Loki’s hand was wrapped around his swollen length. The god chuckled, “Fascinating, truly. All this time without even being touched, mmmm...and yet you are still interested. Shall I, ah, take you up on your offer to truly take you roughly, or is this too much?”

Oh fuck...this wasn’t roughly? He didn’t think he could handle any more…

Oh gods, he wanted to know. He needed to know. He wanted Loki to destroy him, to make him scream. He wanted to scream for Loki.

Tony managed to moan a weak agreement, and then Loki was true to his word, going faster and rougher than he had ever gone. If Loki had been rutting like an animal the first time he had taken him, then he was fucking him like a crazed beast now. The bed shook and moaned along with him, and his spread was no cheap double. Every jab at his over-stimulated prostate sent him into a higher level of orgasm, as he waited for the dominating creature above him to take his pleasure and allow Tony to finally reach his end. Loki’s arms were the only thing keeping his boneless body from collapsing, roughly squeezing at his hips and pulling Tony down onto himself and thrusting in with so much force that Tony’s vision flashed white and it felt like he was being hit with a four-ton semi in his backside.

It was glorious.

And he was so broken, so lost, that he could not summon the energy to scream for Loki, though he wanted to. He barely registered that the only sounds he was making were tiny gasping noises and whimpers like he was having some gentle, slow sex, rather than being brutally pounded by a powerful god. He was dripping sweat and shivering in Loki’s arms as he was used mercilessly, and oh, he was in Asgardian ‘Valhalla.’

“You were made for this,” Loki growled in his ear, in that sultry voice that Tony craved, and his thrusts began to slow. Then, his hand, like a blessing, was removing the cock ring.

“Come for me, sweet,” the god panted against his neck, and two strokes later, he did.

And promptly passed out.


	6. A Change of Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony Stark is in slight denial of the possibility of sex with Loki ever being intimate.  
> Prepare yourselves for the inevitable fluff, for it draws near!

_—==Tuesday, April 24th—Friday, April 27th==—_

“Good morning, Sir. Might I ask you a question?”

“Huh?” Tony blinked groggily in the bright morning sunlight, “What time is it, Jarv?”

“9 o’clock, Sir.”

Tony pulled the thin sheet back over his head, not that it helped much in regards to blocking light. He sniffed and was shocked to find that it didn’t reek of sex. The silky maroon fabric smelled like a freaking forest; in fact, his whole room had a distinct pine smell. The hell? Did Loki spray his room and his bed to death with Febreze while he was sleeping, or what? If that was the case, though, the sheets would still have an underlying odor...Magic?

He wasn’t inclined to believe that magic existed, but the demigod had already made illusions of himself, disguised himself as a female, made an unbreakable magical contract with him, and even summoned chains...and a collar...and lube...out of nowhere. He was starting to believe that the guy might be legitimately doing “magic.” Fuck, LOKI. Yeah, he was magic alright.

Tony thought back to last night. Oh hell, he was done for, and he knew it.

If, no, when Loki returned, he would be waiting on his knees. Oh gods, anything he wanted, Tony would give it.

He belonged to Loki. He was Loki’s to use. Loki’s pet, sweet, whatever the hell the guy wanted to call him. Loki was his fucking god. Hell, he probably was the official God of Sex for all Tony knew. If he wasn’t, he should be...

“Sir?”

“Yeah? Sorry?” Tony muttered, and flashed a grin at the ceiling.

“Well, I was going to ask you if you were quite alright?”

“I’m fine,” Tony frowned rolling out of bed, and waddling to the bathroom. His neck was stiff, and his backside was sore, to say the least, but the ache only served to remind him of last night. He guiltily relished the idea that he would feel Loki for at least another day.

“Are you sure? I was surprised when Mr. Odinsson showed up last night, though it seems he did not permanently damage you. He seemed familiar with you...have you met again elsewhere?”

Oh Shit, with a capital S. Jarvis had been on, hadn’t he?

“Please, please tell me you didn’t tell Pepper,” Tony blurted frantically. He was not ready to deal with this yet.

“No, Sir, I do not inform Pepper of your sexual interests. However, I _am_ concerned for your safety in this particular case. _Should_ I call her?”

“I’m fine, really,” Tony breathed a sigh of relief, “Really fine. In fact, I’m great.”

“That is good. I was just alarmed when you bottomed for him, as you have never chosen to do so before, and he seemed incredibly rough. I also would have spoken to you when you were calling for him not to leave you in such a position, but he assured me that he did not intend to harm you, and that he would return if you became too panicked,” Jarvis said calmly, as always.

Tony stared at a wall, comprehension slowing dawning. Loki had spoken to Jarvis, and Jarvis had listened to him. And Loki cared enough that he didn’t want Tony to panic?

“Wait, so did he really leave?”

“No. He remained in the tower the whole time, Sir. Just outside your door.”

Tony stared in befuddlement, and then shook his head. Business elsewhere, huh?

Loki didn’t return that night, but he found another slip of paper in the bathroom on Thursday.

_I will return, if you would have me. You can say no without repercussions. Let me know by turning off your robotic servant._

Loki was giving him a choice. He could say no. He could forget all this ever happened, tip off Thor that Loki was in New York, and get the bastard back in chains.

So why didn’t he want to? Was he that much of a sex addict?

That was so much of an understatement, calling that “sex” the same way as he did with all the random women he had slept with over his life...this was something else entirely. Loki just took, and he wanted to be taken from. Sadist and masochist, right? He was surprised with himself, but it didn’t sound as weird as he might have considered it in the past.

For some unknown reason, he wanted to be used. Hell, he craved being used.

“Fuck, I am so screwed,” he whined, crumpling up the note.

A night later, he found himself turning off Jarvis. He paced around his room, and eventually laid down. He went ahead and took off his shirt, lazily tapping a rhythm on his arc reactor. He wondered if he should start touching himself again. Just when he thought Loki wasn’t going to show, the door creaked. He looked up to see the simpering trickster god.

Loki chuckled lowly as he stalked forward until he was at the foot of the bed.

“Waiting for me, pet?” Loki smirked, “I’m impressed.”

Tony gulped, but didn’t move. He was entirely too aware of the view he was currently giving the god, his legs spread wide on the bed. He knew he should theoretically feel ashamed of himself for being so weak and submissive, but he just felt proud. Proud that he had pleased Loki, because he had a good feeling about what that would bring...what had the asshole done to him now? A few days ago, the thought of the trickster god had him terrified, but now he was just turned on, the fear still there, but only adding to the thrill of the whole experience.

He wondered what sadistic and fun things Loki had planned for him tonight. And then he realized that he wasn’t really afraid. Not...in the conventional sense.

He knew he was flirting with danger, but it was now a danger that had yet to hurt him. A danger that had brought him more pleasure than any other lover. A danger that turned him on. And besides, he was pretty sure they were past flirting.

Did that mean that they were dating?

He wasn’t sure if he was up to making any commitments yet. God, he couldn’t do relationships. And, as if Loki would think of it that way. Curse his demented brain. He was not _dating_ Loki. He just belonged to him. It was a mutual agreement of pleasure.

“You made such a good choice. I promise you won’t regret it.” Loki whispered, and with a puff of green and a wink, the trickster god’s clothes just...vanished.

Tony’s eyes widened, his mouth opening a little, and his erection going up a lot. Yeah, he was definitely gay. Or rather bisexual...actually no. He was...Lokisexual?

Loki was fucking hot as hell, far more attractive than most women he had been with actually. His ivory skin was flawless, smooth and unmarred. Interestingly, he didn’t have hair anywhere except for on top his head...odd, because Thor did. He wasn’t bulky and burly like his brother either, but more of a spring-wound kind of powerful: lithe and lean as a tiger. A dancer’s figure. Tony stared, taking in every inch, every detail of this god’s sexy body, over his toned muscles and down to the rosy pink head of his curving arousal, a rather attractive member, to be honest. It was bigger than his own, though he knew his was short and stocky, just like himself: more girth than anything else. Loki’s was far longer and he had a reasonable girth to go with it. Holy shit though...had he really fit that whole thing up his backside the past couple nights?

With that reminder, he half-winced at the soreness left over from the night before last. He wondered if his abused flesh could handle another pounding so soon. He hoped it could.

“Like what you see?” Loki whispered, with his head cocked and sporting a smug expression, and after a moment’s hesitation, Tony slowly nodded, exhaling breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

Loki smiled devilishly and crawled up onto the bed between Tony’s legs. He vanished Tony’s boxers (yeah, he totally believed in magic now) and now they were skin to skin. He slowly made his way closer, keeping eye contact all the while, claiming Tony’s mouth in a soft kiss, and Tony kissed back this time. Their tongues curled together and Loki gently tugged at his lip. There was a brief struggle for dominance, but then Loki gave, allowing Tony to take control of the kiss with a pleased sound. Loki’s mouth had a distinct minty taste to it, which Tony had noticed was present the night before. Tony absentmindedly wondered if he sucked on peppermints all day. The god rolled his hips against him and Tony lost his train of thought, moaning aloud. Yeah. The fear was definitely gone now, and kissing Loki already felt...almost natural, strangely enough. He had figured out that Loki wasn’t going to hurt him. All that was left to do was enjoy the periods of mindless bliss the god was offering to him, free of cost. And bliss it was indeed.

He felt Loki’s slick fingers slip between his cheeks and into him without pause, preparing him for what was to come, already teasing that spot inside him that made him keen in longing. That was two...Now three...no, four. It was not long before the god took Tony’s legs, wrapping them around his waist, and Tony let him manipulate his body into a suitable position. Loki then lined himself up and penetrated him in one smooth motion. There was a certain powerful, yet gentle force to it that told Tony that Loki was holding himself back. He gasped into the green-eyed god’s sensual kiss, trying to thrust forward toward Loki, toward that feeling he needed like he needed to breathe, but a firm hand held down his hips.

“Faster?” he pleaded, but Loki just smiled—not smirked, but smiled warmly—and shook his head, “Take it slowly tonight, Pet. I imagine you are still sore from our past escapade.”

Tony huffed. He was, but only just slightly. Okay a lot, but he barely even noticed it now that Loki was embedded in him again. Loki wasn’t changing his mind though, it seemed. Tony was actually a little disappointed. He had realized that he liked the pain. But this...this had no real pain. What was he supposed to do with _this_?

Loki thrust into him, strong and slow, and Tony closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax and giving in to the soft sensations. He had no idea how long they made love. It was so relaxed, and so good, and so entirely new. Different, yes, but actually good. Not as mind-blowing, obviously, but he was tired, so right now it was perfect.

Loki kissed him until he was out of breath over and over again, lazily pumping his hips, and Tony just spread his legs wider and took in more, shuddering at the feeling of being filled, of having someone cradle him in their arms. Giving in never had been his strong suit, especially not when it came to sex, but this was incredible...and not having to worry about pleasuring his partner? That was still a novel idea.

It was almost as if there was love involved, which made no sense, but Loki was being so careful, so sweet. The playboy couldn’t recall that last time he had had slow sex. And of course, never like this. This new position, despite face-to-face being normal for the playboy, seemed far more intimate when Tony was on the receiving end, and even stranger...he didn’t really mind the change of pace as much as he probably should.

It seemed like an eternity of slowly rocking together, the slow motions nearly swaying him to sleep a few times, and Tony never wanted it to end.

He could get used to this, too.

When he finally climaxed, it was only with a quiet moan and a shudder. Loki climaxed a few moments later, letting go with a sigh.

Loki slipped free, rolling off to the side, but this time he didn’t leave, wrapping strong arms around the smaller man and pulling him close. Tony didn’t object, leaning his head back against the god’s chest.

His eyes drifted shut, despite the strangeness of having Loki’s warm body pressed to his. Loki pulled up the covers, and snuggled up to him, rubbing circles on his side and nuzzling his neck in a way that was still much too intimate for Tony’s liking. Then again, this whole session had been a little bit more, well, personal. He should be panicking; he hated being hugged or cuddled in any way by anyone except for maybe Pepper, but all he felt was a pervading sense of calm. No fear at all...  
Why did he trust Loki? Why did he feel even remotely safe in the psychopath’s arms?

“I have been thinking lately” Loki suddenly muttered, “...and I am sorry for how I treated you. I took from you without being entirely certain that you would enjoy it. And then I told you that you had a choice, and then took what I wanted again, without truly making sure I had your consent. ”

A moment later, “Will you, ah, forgive me?”

Tony was shocked, “I, sure, I guess.” he slurred, half awake, wondering how what he had said the second time around had not been a clear yes, “Yeah. I wasn’t sure either. It’s no big deal.”

He listened in shock to his own words. Where was that coming from?

Silence, for a very long time. He yawned and closed his eyes, letting himself go boneless against the smooth firmness of Loki’s skin. This was actually kind of nice.

He thought Loki had fallen asleep; he was nearly asleep himself, and Loki said it so quietly the first time that he wasn’t even sure if he had heard him right.

“I love you, Anthony,” Loki whispered, his normally-smooth voice cracking, “I’ve loved you ever since I first met you”

Tony was not awake enough to process. That was the last thing he remembered before he drifted off into a blissful, dreamless sleep in Loki’s arms.

Loki’s voice trailed off, getting quieter and quieter, “The day you boldly challenged me with no armor or weapons, threatened me and then offered me a drink. That was when I realized I could live again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony, I think we're all a bit #Lokisexual


	7. Teach Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't look too closely into the Iron Man missile tech. ;)

_—==Saturday, April 28th—Friday, May 4th==—_

When he woke up the next morning, he realized that Loki was still in bed with him, entirely nude. Their legs were entangled, and his arm was draped across Loki’s chest. That’s when the enormity of what Loki had said the night before hit him.

Loki was in love with him.

_Loki._

He snorted at the absurdity of it, and shifted around to face the god. He looked so different in his sleep, his expression smoothed out and an innocent smile on his face. He was entirely vulnerable and at Tony’s mercy, and he couldn’t believe that he was being trusted like this. There was literally nothing keeping him from grabbing the knife that Loki had left lying on the dresser along with his neatly folded tunic and leather get-up, and stabbing its owner with it. He looked between Loki and the knife, and then cursed himself to hell for even thinking about it. 

The truth was that he had the power to do it...and he should do it. He was an Avenger, after all, and he remembered what they were supposed to do if the war criminal ever happened to return to Earth. Yet, he felt absolutely no desire to hurt the god lying beside him. The thought actually sickened him, in all honesty.

Tony tapped him lightly, but the younger-looking man didn’t awake, even when he brushed a lock of his ebony hair off his forehead. He took a long look at the god’s visage, and asked himself if he was making the right choice, for at least the hundredth time since the conversation with Natasha. Finally, he gave up fighting himself in his head.

It was either the right choice, or he was likely dead, but he really could care less. He was willing to take that risk. Loki’s soft breathing tickled his hand, and he resisted the urge to wake up the tall man lying in his bed with a kiss. Maybe it would lead to morning sex. Who knew? But honestly, where were all these ridiculous impulses coming from? Actually, he didn’t really care about that, either. He wanted this, the sex, the belonging. Maybe even the love. He wanted Loki.

Tony found himself smiling, crazily enough, as he walked down to breakfast with Nat in the guest lounge that he was tempted to start calling the Avengers Lounge, if anyone else from the team ever decided to occupy those four special guest floors beneath his personal floors. No one else had ever stayed on those floors, and they were in desperate need of occupation. He came back up after a terse conversation with the former assassin to find that Loki had left.

Or so he thought, until he got to the research he was doing on the trail of barely detectable radiation Loki left everywhere he went. He had just recently set up specially-designed sensors all over his lab. He smiled when he saw the ridiculously large blip on the holographic screen. Loki was still here. He was standing about a few feet behind Tony, invisible apparently. Tony paused the screen.

“Stalker much? Hope you’re enjoying watching me work,” he called out, hoping he was right, and not just snarking off to an empty room.

He heard a sharp inhale behind him, and his lips quirked up. He spun around in his swivel chair to see the now-visible Loki, looking stunned and embarrassed. That was a new one.

“Busted,” Tony smirked, and Loki smiled…sheepishly, “So it seems. How did you know?”

“See that screen? That big blip would be you.”

“But I am undetectable by infrared, radar, sonar, every device you mortals possess! I have checked!” Loki insisted.

“So I made a new device. It picks up the most minute levels of unusual radiation and separates them from natural background radiation. Now here’s my theory, which I will explain, just as soon as I unfreeze the frame,” he pressed play, and the blip went down dramatically, “As you can see, the blip has nearly disappeared, but it’s still there. My theory is that your “magic” is so closely related to radiation that the sensors can pick it up. When you’re resting, you only emit slightly more radiation than the average person, but when using ‘magic,’ that radiation emission increases over tenfold. You also leave a trail everywhere you go while being invisible, so don’t try to lie. I know you’ve been watching me before today. ”

Loki stared. He didn’t speak for a long time, and when he did, it was only a whisper, “Teach me.”

“Teach you what?” Tony asked. How to build the radiation detection machine that he had just invented? As if he could teach that stuff to a renaissance-English-speaking prince...Well, he did do some pretty impressive feats with his ‘magic.’ But what was the guy asking for?

“I thought that mortals were an inferior race, but I am learning that you truly make the most of the years you have, unlike those in Asgard. If I had found but one peer in Asgard who was as intelligent as you, perhaps...perhaps things would not have turned out the same for me. You have accomplished what not even Heimdall the All-seeing can manage, finding me while I was shielded,” Loki shook his head in amazement, “I want you to teach me everything about your race.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your reindeer, Dasher. You know how long that would take?” Tony snorted, propping his feet up on the table. The god, demigod, whatever-he-was didn’t look perturbed.

“How long?” Loki asked.

“Years! A lifetime! Unless you want to go to college to be a historian. I won’t even brag here. I know almost nothing about history. Enough to know that it sucked, and I’m glad I don't live in the Medieval time period.”

“A Midgardian lifetime you say? Thus, not very long,” Loki insisted, looking unimpressed. Then he caught Tony’s eyes, which he had been about to roll, and his own vividly-expressive green eyes widened. His expression darkened and he looked away hurriedly, with an unmistakable insinuation that even Tony could pick up on. Like he was thinking about Tony...dying. As if that pained him.

Tony blinked in utter confusion. So he...

Did he really, genuinely care? If so...what the actual hell?

Tony sighed, trying to hide his startled reaction with indifference, “You and Thor just love rubbing that one in, don’t you?”

“Teach me, and I will in turn teach you the art of Seiðr, if you wish,” Loki begged, and then looked embarrassed for some reason, “That is all I have to offer, I am afraid.

“Not true, you also offer fabulous sex,” Tony smirked, and Loki literally—oh god―blushed, suddenly acting all shy, and damn, the criminal looked cuter with a flush of pink than Tony wanted to admit, “So Seiðr?”

Loki looked down, “You most likely would not be interested. Not a soul in Asgard was.”

“What is it though?”

Loki sighed, “To you, magic.”

Tony nearly fainted on the spot.

“No way, you can just teach people magic? I could do all that BAM! POW! Look, there’s lots of me now stuff?!” Tony cried, recalling the footage he had seen of Stuttgart.

Oh, the research possibilities. The power. He could just picture it: a thousand Iron Man suits flying through the sky, and no one would have a clue which one was really him! Screw the Iron Legion idea, because those would cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars a pop, and would need to be replaced all the time. A couple Jarvis-run suits mixed in with a bunch of illusions would make for a deadly combo of trickery and hidden firepower. Unfortunately, Loki wasn’t looking very open to the idea, even though he was the one who brought it up in the first place. Tony tried not to let his disappointment show, but it was kind of hard.

Loki sighed at his expression, “You want to be able to do that? With all your brute force I didn’t take you to be that kind of man….Ah, what am I saying? You bottom, of course.”

“What do you mean, ‘that kind of man? How does this have anything to do with sex roles? Of course I want to do magic. Who wouldn’t?”

“Thor, Sif, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and the entirety of Asgard.”

“Well, they’re about as dense as Osmium. That’s hardly my problem,” Tony said.

“Seiðr is an dishonorable and unmanly practice, used only by cowards with no brute strength to aid them and the healers, Vanir sorceresses who tend to our injuries,” Loki insisted.

Tony snorted, “Really? So you’re trying to tell me that Thor and all his friends up in Ass-gard think you’re unmanly, and that I’m only qualified to do magic if I keep bottoming for you? Nice try, Bambi. I mean, I’m somewhat amenable to the idea, but come on…”

Loki wasn’t laughing, and Tony frowned, “Hold on, you’re really serious?”

Loki gave a shaky exhale, eyes shut and brow furrowed, and he nodded sadly, “One of my many nicknames is Ergi.”

Tony frowned, having no idea what that meant. He figured it was nothing good.

“Ergi (noun) and Argr (adjective) are two Old Norse terms of insult, denoting effeminacy or other unmanly behavior,” Jarvis added helpfully, “Also, I believe it worth noting that in Old Nordic culture, homosexual intercourse was only considered shameful for the man who bottomed.”

“Well that’s just rude, and I’m not even going to comment on that second part,” Tony said, “I think your magic is badass, and I’m sure everyone else on Earth would think the same, had you not, um, you know.”

“Really?” Loki asked, “Midgardians are so unlike Asgardians. More logical, perhaps.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Tony said.

“Mmm, well you take everything as a compliment, or so I have heard,” Loki deadpanned and Tony grinned, “Textbook narcissism, Baby!”

Loki chuckled along with him, and suddenly, unexplainably, Tony found himself wanting to tell the curious demigod about his projects, his Iron man suit designs, everything., because he had a feeling that Loki would actually listen. Hell, maybe even history. Okay, yeah, no. Loki was going to have to learn that himself, because after that horrible quarter in which he had subjected himself to a college history elective because it fit his schedule, he was not doing any more of that.

“Alright,” Tony conceded, “I’ll teach you stuff. Where should we start? Toasters maybe? Thor had a hard time wrapping his mind around those.”

Loki laughed, carefree and light, “No, no, I perfectly well understand how a toaster works.”

“You do?”

“Yes,” Loki rolled his eyes, “An unimpeded electrical current running through strips of exposed metal to produce heat; it is not that difficult to comprehend. Of all things, Thor should understand the concept of electricity, given that lightning is just another form of it. Besides, ’tis not as though we do not have technology running on a very similar power source in Asgard.”

Tony couldn’t help but hoot at that. That idea hadn’t occurred to him, actually, and it only made Thor look all the more pathetic. Not that he really needed help in that arena.

And so, that was how it came to be that over the next week, Tony gave Loki mechanical engineering lessons, physics lesson, and even a few history lessons and printed up a giant list of commonly used English phrases for Loki to reference.

“What on ‘Earth’” Loki muttered to himself, trying out some of the phrases for himself, “Old habits die hard….Don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth… Heh...Who let the cat out of the bag?...now that one is odd... Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket…” Loki lowered the book and Tony glanced up at the sudden silence from the active reader on an oil-stained bean bag chair in his lab. He would have never pictured it. Loki, Nordic deity and leader of the Chitauri Invasion of New York City, annoying him half to death reading an idioms book aloud while he was trying to work.

“Eggs in baskets? Why would you take the bird eggs out of the nest and put them in a basket in the first place?”

This last part was directed at Tony, who was standing there working out some numbers for the trajectory ranges of a miniature missile launcher attached to his suit. It had gone wonky on their last strike, only clipping its target with its explosion rather than directly hitting it, and definitely needed some tweaks.

“Do you not have chickens in Asgard?” Tony asked, fiddling with his holo-table and trying to get the number 0.4 out of his calculations. He kept getting 0.23, for some reason. Well he had a vague idea as to the reason, but he was still working on a solution, and he was not able to focus well with Loki muttering phrases to himself.

“Not that I am aware of,” Loki murmured.

“Oh. Well, our domesticated fowl, known as chickens, lay eggs. We eat those and also their meat.”

“Ah, I see,” Loki nodded.

“We have to get you some wings for lunch,” Tony grinned, “Come on, Space-Man, it’s time you ate some _real_ food.”

“Asgard, Vanaheim, and Alfheim have plenty of ‘real’ food,” Loki murmured, looking unimpressed.

“I don’t know, another Asgardian who I will not name seems to like our cuisine better than his own…”

Loki snorted, not offended, thankfully, “My brother? ’Tis not a very convincing argument to get me to try your food, for Thor will eat anything you place in front of him.”

Tony shrugged, slightly surprised that Loki had just called Thor his brother, “Yeah, you’re not wrong there.”

“So, regarding what you are doing there...You are trying to accomplish a particular number for the change in trajectory angle?” Loki changed the subject.

“Yeah, the furthest range is whack. Must've done something or another wrong. The trajectory is apparently not a fan of the lift and air-speed velocity changes,” he mimicked a missile doing a straight path and then taking an abrupt nose-dive, “ I can launch a missile at you from just slightly closer up, but I would really like it if I could get the full potential out of this bad boy, push it to the limit. I think I can push it a few more tenths of a degree up from horizontal, a half-mile or so further…”

“But?” Loki prompted.

“I want to get a change of 0.4 degrees, and yet it seems like it needs to be 0.2, ” Tony sighed, “ Big difference there, and it causes major problems, which I cannot fathom why. I would think that would be the ideal trajectory to maximize fuel efficiency.”

“Well, 0.23, to be more precise. I understand that you are trying to do this using calculations of projectile motion and lift...what is the fuel efficiency?” Loki asked.

Tony showed him, and the intelligent demigod grinned, looking excited, “I think I understand. Your problem is that the missile runs out of primary fuel back here, and you are trying to use its tracking boosters to both finish its flight and hit the target all at once. But the boosters...yes that would work out alright using the equations you gave me yesterday. Is the problem that you are trying to keep the missile in the air _too_ long? The problem does not lie in the physics of the flight, but rather in the tracking system itself. It seems to be locating the target too…”

“Late...oh damn, you’re right. I thought it would override, but once it latches on, it goes as crooked as General Ross.”

“The momentum and gravity along with the sudden lack of acceleration are tilting the tracking device as it tries to change direction,” Loki added, and Tony’s mind lit up with ideas.

“Yeah, and it’s tipping into a sort of upright stall, and then it’s just gravity after that, hence the almost 90 degree crash angle. I think that might be the issue,” he stared at Loki incredulously, "I'll start the final target tracking sequence a bit earlier, then. That ought to take care of the problem." He would have come to the same conclusion, but the mere fact that Loki had before him…

And the guy had just started learning the basics of mechanical engineering and Earth physics this week. Granted, he already understood the concepts of physics― he just knew them in different terms and equations. Tony was shocked, because Thor didn’t know those sorts of things.

Loki was flipping brilliant, in case you hadn't caught that. Thor had failed to mention just how smart his brother was when he spoke about him before. Four days, and this renaissance-English-speaking demigod was correcting Tony Stark on missile tech.

Tony Stark had finally found his equal…

No, that was an exaggeration.

He had found someone who put his intellect to shame. He hated to admit it, but Loki was far more brilliant than him. The guy was on a whole other level of super-genius…

He had found someone who would actually challenge him.

Someone who made bad choices, but almost looked as though he was trying to change.

Someone who made him feel like no other had before.

Someone who made him feel truly alive for the first time in his life.

Tony knew that he was spoiled for Bruce the next time he came over. Sure, they spoke closer to the same language, but while Loki was still learning the lingo of machinery, he also proposed solutions that were definitely beyond Bruce’s understanding of the subject. Bruce was no mechanical engineer, and never would be, but Loki was a natural.

He also did things to Tony’s body that he had never thought possible. He thought he had experienced being turned-on before, but all of his past escapades paled in comparison to the way Loki had made him feel a few nights ago. Tony still got chills when he thought about the sadistic intelligence behind the torture. To say that that had been an amazing experience was a little bit of an understatement.

Who knew that Tony Stark was actually, legitimately a masochist?

He hadn’t enjoyed what they did to him in Afghanistan, so he knew it had to be controlled, obviously. It wasn’t real torture, probably just seemed like it to others. He wondered how far Loki would take it, though. Did he know Tony’s limits? Was he even aware that there was such thing as a safe-word? For a minute, Tony allowed himself the pleasure of imagining Loki getting into the sadist role as portrayed by the most glorious internet. Safe and consensual, but just mad enough to be dangerous. He had looked up that lifestyle, and even he was shocked by what crazy stuff people used to make sex more interesting. He had never really been interested in going to all the effort and looking creepy in the process. He was too impatient to tease someone, or slow-torture them, dang it!

But Loki clearly had found those dark cesspools of the internet, or, like Tony had said, a ‘naughty secrets’ store of sorts, and Tony had realized that he liked that stuff when it was used on _him._

What other wicked toys did he have in his magical storage that Tony didn’t know about?

More chains? Gags? Sex toys?

Whips?

No, Tony. Don’t go there.

It was quickly becoming an addiction. It was no longer just an every-few-nights event with Loki. He was spending time around the god, and Loki slammed him into the wall or carried him off the bedroom whenever he felt like it. Tony certainly wasn’t protesting, but he had promised himself he wouldn’t take it too far. He was an Avenger, and Loki was...something else.

He was taking it way past too far already, letting Loki use and abuse his body like his own personal fuck-toy every night, and sometimes twice in one day, and it had only been a few days. But he wanted to keep following this path. He didn’t care where it led him.

Damn it, Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh! Tony's making the fall...  
> ;)))


	8. Who Says Tony Stark Cannot Learn to Obey?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are back at it again!  
> Turn on the steam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter has some slightly bad BDSM etiquette....Loki!

_—==Saturday, May 5th==—_

Tonight, when Tony had Jarvis shut off the lights in the lab and lock the doors, Loki gave him a rabid look in the near-darkness. Tony’s length gave an interested twitch.

Loki was invading his mouth before they even made it off the elevator, and then he scooped Tony up bridal-style and hauled him to his bed.

“Loki…”Tony groaned when Loki pulled away from their lip-lock, “Oh gods, please.”

“And how would you like it tonight?” Loki asked coyly. Tony blinked, “Uh…”

“Shall I tease you until you beg for mercy with your pretty little whimpers?” Loki whispered seductively, and Tony knew with a sense of resignation that no other person was ever going to make him so turned-on with just his voice again… “or just slip inside your hot, willing body nice and slow? Or perhaps you would like for me to make you scream my name...you do so love it when I punish you…”

“Punish me?” Tony asked softly, feeling heat flush his whole body at Loki’s words, “I wouldn’t exactly...call that punishment since I’m enjoying it and not really in real pain. But, you know, you could actually.”

Loki tilted his head, “Could what? Make you feel real pain?”

“Yeah...I think...I might like that. Maybe.”

Loki raised an eyebrow, grinning a little, “Oh? And how would you like me to do so, pet?”

“Uh…”

Dirty thoughts were flying through his head and setting wildfires in his imagination by now. He ran a hand through his hair and sat on the edge of the bed as he contemplated.

All of the possibilities…but one in particular stood out.

He could just see it.

Loki brandishing a whip, punishing Tony like he had done something naughty. Slowly turning him on with every strike, and then taking him roughly as the grand finale.

He could see that working. He wasn’t sure if that would be a turn-on or not, though. Loki had hit him before, just with a palm, but his body had reacted in ways he didn’t expect. Yeah, forget it. Loki could probably make anything a turn on, and he was willing to find out. He just needed to be able to say stop and have Loki listen, right?

“I think we could...you could, uh, w-whip me. I might like that,” Tony said softly.

“Whip you?” Loki looked shocked, “Why would I…Ah, never mind....that must be another mortal concept. You might like such a thing, you say?”

Tony was red as could be. Why on Earth had he just said that aloud? Had he really just explained away to himself why he ought to try being whipped? Why did he even want it? He looked down shamefully.

Loki sidled up between his legs, and gently tilted his chin to gaze into those emerald eyes, “Is that what you want, tonight?”

Tony nodded tentatively, and Loki sighed, “Well then. I suppose I should be getting to buying the appropriate tools necessary for this fantasy, should I not?”

“Oh,” Tony muttered, disappointed. There went tonight’s plans...

“Were you expecting me to have a larger stash of mortal sex devices?” Loki chuckled.

“Uh, maybe,” Tony flushed, running a hand through his hair, “Yeah, I kind of was.”

Loki laughed, “Nay, I improvised with what I had, for the most part. The collar was modified from a gold band I was gifted whilst in Alfheim, there are plenty of gold chains in Asgard for the light fixtures and I happened to have taken a few for my, what do you call it? My ‘knick-knack’ storage, yes. And the long metal hook was intended to hang armor upon. The only thing I purchased was the little vibrating device, which I discovered at the front counter of a strange little store down the street. ‘Twas entirely by accident, in all truth, but once I found it, I was certain that I could put it to good use…Ah, and the ring.”

Tony was sure he was wide-eyed as Loki so bluntly laid out the components required for his utter undoing.

The emerald-eyed god was not only a sadist; he also invented his own clever devices which produced stunningly accurate results. Oh gods, Tony was going to lose his sanity before the week was out if this was what he was up against.

“Wait, just how far down the street?” Tony asked. Loki could probably find something there, right? Front counter vibrators...gods.

“A few blocks. Would you like me to return there and find you something with which to punish you, sweet?”

Tony gulped, “Yes…”

Loki’s expression turned dark, but Tony knew it was just part of the game, which he was now willing to play, “I expect you to be undressed and ready for me by the time I return. You would hate to upset me right after I bought you such a dangerous present, yes?”

Tony gulped harder at that, feeling his nascent erection swell further at the threat.

Loki was going to punish him. He had just asked, and Loki had agreed. He wasn’t sure whether to celebrate or regret his life choices as of current. Anyways, he had set the ball rolling, and he wondered how long it would take before it finally came to a halt at the bottom of the hill.

He couldn’t wait for the ride in between.

Loki left, and Tony wondered what he was going to do while waiting for Loki to return. He could think of several things...one of which was…

Oh yes.

He reached under the bed and found that plug that Loki had pulled from him and tossed on the ground, and apparently forgotten about...and yes, it was just as big, if not bigger than Tony had pictured. It wasn’t as wide as his fist, but it was elongated and teardrop shaped, with a fake ruby on the smaller end that would stick out, and just big enough to hurt like hell going in. He also found the little rubbery ring that he had used to hold off his orgasm. He debated whether or not to use that one.

He decided it was worth it. He could just picture Loki’s face when he found Tony like this…Desperate and keening already. Yeah, he could do that.

He wondered how Loki had managed to forget those things...maybe he had intended for Tony to find them? No, not under the bed, surely. That was just weird.

And yes, Tony sanitized them before using them again—he wasn’t as filthy as you might think. He didn’t exactly want to stick under-the-bed lint inside of himself, thank you very much. That cleansing process might have taken several minutes and lots of disinfectant, because he was actually slightly germaphobic.

He looked at the clock and hoped Loki was not a fast walker. That seemed a bit much to hope for considering his stamina and physique. He slipped the clear rubber ring over his erection, hissing as he clicked the hook on it two more notches until it was tight enough to hurt.

Then, he began slipping lubed fingers into his taut pucker, working himself open gradually. It wasn’t long before he was forcefully cramming four fingers into the tight heat, rocking his body against the bed sheets, and groaning at the burning fire he was creating his lower regions. He braced himself against the edge of the bed as he reached over and closed his fingers around the ruby-studded plug, mentally preparing himself as he brought it to his backside.

Come on, Tony. You can do this. Embrace the pain.

Gritting his teeth, he shoved the absurdly large object into himself, wincing at the brief flare of pain from the over-stretching. He shuddered against the edge of his bed once it was finally in. He knelt, naked, at the foot of his huge spread, trying to get comfortable with the large item filling his internal spaces, and waited.

Loki showed up sooner than later, thank the gods. Tony was getting jittery from impatience, wondering what sexy surprise Loki would come back with. He heard the door creak, but he didn’t look up, hanging his head and trying not to let out any sounds of his pleasure. Oh shit, he was gone already. His inhibitions were gone, at least. Out the window. Flown the coop.

He was submitting, showing weakness, and it wasn’t even that hard…

Loki was indeed the dominating force in the room, and Tony realized that he didn’t mind the thought of submitting to him now, of forfeiting control. Not because he was forced to, or because he had low self-esteem, or because he was a failure and a screw-up. He finally accepted it.

He belonged to Loki, and he would serve because he wanted to.

“Oh…” Loki breathed, “And who says that Tony Stark cannot learn to obey?”

Footsteps neared him and Loki wrapped a hand around his rock-hard arousal without warning.

He turned his head to look at Loki, feeling burning passion in his gut and in his eyes, and shamelessly rocked into his grip.

“And what exactly has my pet so aroused? Just the thought of me...oh my.”

Tony looked up at him expectantly. 

Loki had found the cock ring at the base of his arousal, and he chuckled deeply, “Oh yes, pet. You really did, didn’t you? I was hoping you might find that…”

Tony flushed, he knew he had to be flushing, “Surprise...”

“Mmm, and a delicious one indeed.” Loki said, before tightening the ring another notch. Okay. He thought it couldn’t possibly be scrunched up any further. He let out a loud whimper, half pain. Oh fuck, his circulation was gone now… “And now I can finger you all I want, until you beg me for mercy, and not have to worry about pleasuring you too much for one night. Yes, I think I shall.”

“Mhmm, ‘cept you can’t right now,” Tony smirked up at Loki with hooded eyes, breathing still slightly erratic from the added pressure on his straining cock.

“Pardon?” Loki asked, and then he slipped his fingers between Tony’s cheeks and found the plug buried in him.

Loki inhaled sharply, eyes widening, “You. Oh, you cunning little…”

Loki curled his body up around him, lifting Tony up and seating him in his lap, trailing hands down his stomach and thighs, “My sweet Pet...preparing your own little present for me while I was gone, were you now? How does it feel?”

“Mmm,” Tony moaned, leaning his head back against Loki’s shoulder. He tilted his head to let Loki mouth at his neck like he so loved to do. Loki still had his tunic and trousers on, but he ground himself up into Tony’s bare backside. Tony felt the god’s bony arousal tenting his pants, and inwardly grinned.

He had successfully stunned Loki, and he was quite smug.

That didn’t stop him from shivering and mewling like a helpless kitten when Loki traced a cool hand on his backside and brushed the sparkly red stud peeking out from between his pert cheeks.

“But I was so intent on watching you nearly come undone from just my fingers,” Loki voiced his thoughts, “Really, pet, I should punish you for being naughty, but here I am praising you.”

Tony gave a full-body shudder. The only two words he heard out of that sentence were ‘naughty’ and ‘punish.’

Loki smirked as he lifted the inventor up and stood him on his feet, “I think I will. You would like that, wouldn’t you, my naughty Pet?

Tony nodded emphatically, swallowing hard.

Loki shuffled around, and then he was placing cuffs on Tony and chains spreading his arms wide out and into the air. Tony saw that he did not, in fact, put holes in his ceiling, the chains levitating into the air and just, uh, becoming one with his ceiling with a dull thudding sound.

Yet another handy trick.

He really wished Loki would teach him…

He looked down as Loki made him stand with his legs spread apart, and cuffed his ankles. He trailed kisses up the back of Tony’s legs, and even placed one dirty one directly on the plug. He gave it a little twist and watched Tony nearly come undone, and then turned on the vibrator on. Tony’s eyes rolled back in his head at the overwhelming feeling.

Yes, please.

Then, Loki pulled a metal rod out of thin air and hooked it to Tony’s ankle cuffs, forcing his legs even further apart than before. Loki stood, surveying his work. Tony had goose bumps from the cool air, and he could even feel it brushing the rim of his stretched pucker. He was splayed wide open… He was well aware of the fact that he was naked and up on display for Loki to view, spread-eagled and vulnerable, but he could care less. Let Loki look all he wanted. As of right now, he could only throw back his head, and lose himself in the humming pleasure in his core.

And then Loki tapped his shoulder. He opened his eyes, and gulped when he saw the long, slender, black-and-gold satin box being displayed to him.

Loki gave him a devilish look and opened it slowly. Tony stared with horror and awe at the sleek, black riding crop with gold embellishments and a gold tassel, nestled in the silky black fabric. He looked at the instrument for a long moment, and then caught Loki’s eyes that spoke every intention of using it on him.

He had been expecting a paddle of sorts, or even a stereotypical ropy leather whip, but this thing looked downright vicious.

His arousal gave a throb of expectation.

Then his mind started running, and his self-preservation instincts kicked in...yes, he did have those. Hold on a minute… He had almost forgotten, he was so turned-on.

“Wait,” Tony muttered, “Before you…there’s something we use around here, to make sure that everything is safe and consensual…”

Loki set the box aside, tapping the narrow rod against his hand ominously, but his face told another story, one of concern, “Do tell.”

“We uh, call it a safe word, and it’s basically just the ‘I don’t want this, please stop,’ call.”

“And what would you use for this safe-word?” Loki raised an eyebrow, smiling a little.

“Uh…I don’t know. I was thinking about making it...uh. No that wouldn’t work. Mmm...Um...crap I didn’t think this through,” Tony muttered. He honestly couldn’t think with that _thing_ going to town inside of him.

Loki rolled his eyes at his stuttering, “How about you just yell ‘STOP!’ Why must it be more complicated than that?”

“I don’t know, I might say it and not mean it. That’s the usual reason,” Tony explained.

“I shall be able to tell if you _mean_ it...God of Lies here...and besides, I have never heard you yell ‘stop’ during intercourse before,” Loki sighed, “Must we?”

Tony sighed as well, “Yeah, you’re right, it is kind of dumb. Okay, then…where were we?”

“Ah, yes. I was just about to ask you how you would like to do this,” Loki traced his hand along the handle of the riding crop. “Would you prefer to see what I am doing, or not know where...”

A light nip on his calf. Loki had lashed out at him in a blur, but the turn of his hand turned the bite of the crop into a caress.

“...the stripes,” Loki grinned, flicking him again, on the stomach this time, and heat rushed to the area.

“...come from?” Loki finished with a tickle on his inner thigh, and then his cool hand was soothing over the faint red marks he had made, “It is your choice.”

Tony smiled back. Oh yeah. He could do this.

“Blindfold, please.”

“I thought you might say that,” Loki crooned, and then he was gently tying a cool, silky cloth over his eyes. Tony shut his eyes and allowed his body to fall into a relaxed, open position, welcoming the blackness that meant pleasure. His body thrummed, both inside and out, his skin tingling in wait for the actual sting of a strike.

And then it came, hard, between his shoulder blades. He bit his lip to muffle his cry.

Loki paused, letting him recover, and he heard him moving, before landing another stripe, unexpectedly on the front of his leg.

Then a particularly hard strike on the back of his thighs, and Tony yelped in pain.

Loki paused, as if concerned.

Tony let out a moan to tell him that he was okay. He wasn’t faking it, either.

He had been hoping he would like it, being whipped by Loki. Gods, it sounded so wrong, so sick, and it hurt like hell. But the pleasure humming inside him made it bitter-sweet, and his body jerked and shuddered with each new hit. It was like there was suddenly a rush of adrenaline filling his head with a buzz, dulling the pain and turning the strikes to mere flares of heat on his skin.

Another blow, on his side.

Then a nip on his lower back,

He initially tried to guess where the next blow would land, but eventually gave up.

Loki was going to claim his entire body with his lashes.

One on his upper back,

One on the backs of his calves.

He yelped when a viciously biting blow ate into his sensitive inner thigh, dangerously close to his groin, and yelped louder still when Loki finally landed one on his buttocks.

And then another.

And another.

And another.

Five blows, six blows, seven, eight, nine, this one on his stomach. Loki soon found out where his most sensitive spots were and began targeting those. Each lash lit a fire in his flesh, making his backside and his tender thighs tingle with strips of flames that went straight toward his groin. Every once in a while, a soft caress on the side was offered seemingly as comfort, or a brush of hot breath on his neck, or the occasional teasing stroke on his aching arousal. Then nothing again but the crop and his punishment.

Fifteen…..

Twenty…..

He made soft muffled cries at each blow, varied and intermittent, and the lashes became harder, biting deep into his flesh as Loki became bolder. Soon, he was near screaming at the harsh stings that were raining down on his soft skin, twitching and writhing in the chains that held him spread wide and exposed, trying to escape the pain...no, that wasn’t true…almost welcoming it.

By forty, he was too hoarse to keep crying out.

Fifty….

Sixty…..

And then, at each hit, he began to moan. His arousal gave throbs at every jerk of his body and he was keening in desperation. He needed Loki. Now.

As if Loki could sense his need, the blows stopped falling. Loki vanished his chains, taking Tony’s burning backside into his cool soothing palms, and pressed kisses to his stomach, “There, now. You have been sufficiently punished for the time being.” He removed the blindfold, still chuckling.

Tony blinked slowly, staring at Loki with blown, glassy eyes, and Loki laughed, “Surely you are not that broken.”

Tony shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but he couldn’t focus. The wicked device was still having its way with him, and his body was on fire. He felt like he was being seared by the lashes still, and his tender backside ached right along with his straining arousal.

He was in heaven, if you couldn’t tell from that description.

“Fuck me, please,” it was barely a whisper of a rasp.

“What was that?” Loki smirked at him. Tony groaned.

“Please...master...let me ride you,” Tony made himself choke out, voice rough and exhausted, and he knew for certain this time that his cheeks were literally red. He could feel them burning in the dim light, and he knew he could and did blush. He just didn’t often, until Loki came along and started dominating him and he lost control of the command boat. Master, huh...it had been a spur of the moment thing, but he hoped Loki would like it. And ride Loki? That was a sex position, right, yeah. Why he was wanting to do so, he couldn’t exactly figure out. But it sounded nice in thought, anyways.

It had the desired effect on the god, who looked up at him with an evil smirk and laid down on the bed without another word. He flashed naked, revealing that his lengthy member was already stiff. Tony gulped. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. He couldn’t imagine not crawling up beside Loki and straddling his hips, though.. How could he not?

He reached behind him, making eye contact as he tugged the vibrating object out of him with a hiss and clicked it off before discarding it. Loki was already lubing himself up with a glowing green hand...damn that was cool. Loki looked back up to meet him again with shadowy eyes, a keen smirk on his face as Tony took Loki’s cock in his hands and lined it up with his already stretched hole. He guided the hard flesh in a little, and then let gravity take over, pulling him down onto Loki with a thud. Both he and Loki threw their heads back, and groaned simultaneously. He stayed there for a moment, fully seated on Loki’s length, relishing the feeling of being filled up again, but this time by something warm and pulsing, and oh-so-long. He hauled himself up a little off of Loki, and slammed back down with a shameless mewl of pleasure.

He placed his hands on Loki’s stomach and thighs for leverage, and began a shaky rhythm.

Oh gods, this was different…it went soooo deep from this angle. Oh, he was going to be boneless in no time flat, and then he wouldn’t be able to keep pushing himself up again. He couldn’t help but let gravity win, but oh, that brought him down so hard...

“Ah, Pet, you look darling up there, fucking yourself upon me like a perfect little slut. But you are mine, you know. Only mine.” Loki hissed in that delectable voice. “My, I hope it feels at least half as good as it does for me, sweet. You have no idea what you do to me…”

Then Loki’s hands were on his hips, tugging him down onto himself even harder than Tony had been doing himself, and Tony whimpered at the brutal blows straight to his prostate. But he was still in control, for the most part. He almost preferred Loki being on top of him, taking what he wanted.

He listened to his own thoughts with shock. He did, didn’t he? He wanted Loki to dominate him, to rule him, to subjugate him...to be his master. This coming from a billionaire who was well beyond used to getting his way. Loki did strange things to his body, and even stranger things to his brain, that much was certain.

He didn’t want to be in control; he just wanted to let go...

Loki was moaning at his efforts though, and he supposed that made his strain to continue worth it. Damn, this was hard work...and the more turned on he got, the weaker he felt. Another jab at his happy button, and his legs quivered against Loki’s firm hips. He felt about ready to pass out.

“Hold in there, sweet...mmm….I…’Tis close,” Loki groaned.

“I can’t go yet anyways,” Tony made an excuse. He was not going to be a weak little sissy .

Then, Loki looked up at Tony with half-lidded eyes and the most devilish smirk yet.

A sharp pain hit his tender backside out of nowhere, and his cock throbbed so hard that he made an “ahh-ahhh.” sound.

And then another, nipping his hip.

Loki grinned like the devil, tracing the leather-handled black rod along his groin teasingly, and dragging it right up along his erection, and Tony felt that thrill of fear pass through him again. Loki moved on, though, setting two stripes across his other cheek, before tugging him down onto his arousal and spearing him deep. If he was in heaven before, he was in Valhalla now.

He had asked to be whipped, no specifics.

Trust Loki to outdo any expectations he could set. Including being able to manipulate a crop while Tony was riding him. He was frankly impressed that Loki was managing to not hit himself with the thing too, going so low on his thighs and backside.

He could not believe this was happening. His body couldn’t take any more whipping...and especially not with Loki inside him! And then Loki was unhooking the cock ring, bouncing Tony on him now. It was so much, so unbelievably much, just like it always was with his god, his master.

And obviously Loki was enjoying this too, from his blissful expression. He was still shocked and surprised when Loki came before he did, though, the hot liquid painting his insides as he rocked to a halt.

Oh, crap.

He was even more stunned when the lashes abandoned his backside, and out of the blue…Holy shit! Loki had just struck him…him on… oh…oh!… A second gentle, but still stinging, blow grazed the nerve on the underside of his throbbing arousal, and it was more than enough.

Well, that was one way to make a guy come on the spot.  
He gave two stuttered yelps of pure shock, and spent himself on Loki’s chest, crying out something unintelligible. Boneless, he collapsed forward onto Loki’s body, utterly exhausted. The god’s magic tingled between them as he cleaned up the stickiness, and he gently slipped Tony’s tender, abused body off of his softening arousal with one last reiteration of “so perfect.”

Tony felt empty, for a brief moment, before Loki was wrapping him in his warm arms and carrying him off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Their consensual decision that safe-words are stupid, though...good grief.


	9. Revelations and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Tony have some important conversations and talk about regrets.

_—==Sunday, May 6th—Wednesday, May 9th==—_

“You know,” Tony murmured one day, looking up from where he was tweaking a piece of his suit with a screwdriver, “I was wondering where you were, earlier on. You waited an awfully long time in between sessions at first.”

Loki caught his eye, having been watching him work, “It is of no importance.”

“It is to me,” Tony said, “What else have you been doing here?”

Loki sighed, “You are worried that I have been scheming?”

“Yeah, a little,” Tony shrugged, wiping grease off his hands with a towel, “Mostly curious, though.”

“I had no ill intentions on this planet. I…” Loki took a deep breath, “I admit that I would not have truly hurt anyone, should you have refused me. ”

Tony found that kind of hard to believe. But then again, although this Loki had forced him to submit, or at leased blackmailed him into giving his overarching consent, he didn’t really seem like he had some grand scheme or nefarious purpose. He seemed almost desperate.

For attention?

For love?

What did he want with Tony? It couldn’t just be the sex anymore that kept him around, could it?

He stared, uncomprehending.

Loki sighed, “I understand if you are angered. But I swear to you that I was bluffing. I know this does not make it any less offensive to you. You forgave me so carelessly, and perhaps you should not have.”

Tony sighed, “Yeah, it’s actually kind of annoying. I mean, you could have...I don’t know, maybe...”

“Could have what, Anthony?” Loki snapped, “I would have you as mine, and nothing less. And…”

“And I’m Iron Man, and you’re...Loki,” Tony finished, realizing that the god had a point, “So you thought the only way you could get your hands on this ass was to blackmail me?”

Loki actually winced at that, and Tony frowned.

He couldn’t tell, couldn’t call Loki’s bluff if he was yet again bluffing. Was he really feeling guilty? Or was he playing with Tony’s emotions again?

“You still never answered me, you know,” Tony commented, “Avoiding the question, are we now?”

“I was doing research,” Loki said, “Into...an odd occurrence. An abnormality in my magic. It was nothing of importance.”

Tony blinked and noted, “For a God of Lies, you’re not the best at telling them.”

“Whatever makes you think I am lying? I speak the truth. My magic has been acting up recently, and I wanted to know why,” Loki insisted.

“So did you find out why?”

Loki paused, before finally murmuring, “Yes. For the most part. It is incredibly complicated.”

“Well, I probably wouldn’t understand you then, if its so _very_ complicated. So I guess you’re in the clear. I’ll just stop bothering you about it, because _clearly_ it’s a sensitive topic,” Tony poked fun at the demigod.

Loki growled a little, looking irritated, “Yes, perhaps you should not pester people about matters that are none of your business.”

“Yeah, I have a bad habit of that,” Tony quipped, “Why do I feel like it _is_ my business though?”

Loki sighed, “It is not.”

Tony wasn’t convinced. Loki was hiding something. Tony’s instincts were almost always right.

A few days later, Tony determined that he was officially going to lose his mind, when he stumbled upon Loki doing weird voodoo shit in his room. He was sitting on the floor, his legs crossed and his eyes shut, and he was swaying as if he was in an invisible breeze. There were glowing golden symbols, runes, Tony presumed, floating in the air all around him, and he had green energy rolling down his arms.

Was that his seiðr? Holy shit, Tony could possibly do that? Well, that was if Loki would ever teach him.

“Um, hi there,” Tony called out, having been going to grab the S.H.I.E.L.D. paperwork he had left strewn on his dresser, consisting of an array of legal documents that Fury was insisting he fill out NOW. Bloody pushy pirates…

Loki’s eyes flew open at the sound of his voice, and the demigod reflexively jerked back. His expression went dark, and with a flick of his hand, the green energy went away, and the runes faded.

“Was that?” Tony asked, quite certain that he sounded a bit breathless.

“Magic, yes,” Loki sighed, “A powerful relaxation spell to help me come to terms with and better guide my magic. I did not intend for you to see.”

“Yeah, I had to grab some paperwork that I forgot. Why, though? Why not let me see?” Tony asked, “Could I do that, eventually?’

Loki groaned, “You, Anthony, are so very excellent at pestering.”

“Why, thank you,” Tony flashed a shit-eating grin, “I’m not going to stop ‘til you teach me, you know. Come on, how hard can it be?”

_—==Thursday May 10th—Monday, May 14th==—_

Loki finally agreed to teach him seiðr.

“You’re going to have to get used to meditating,” Loki informed him.

“Seriously?” Tony whined.

“Quite a bit, especially for you,” Loki added, “Given that you should not even have magic to begin with. I am surprised, because there has not been seiðr blood on Midgard for centuries. You are an anomaly, Anthony, do you realize that? You shouldn’t have magic and yet, you do. That is why I offered.”

“Oh,” Tony blinked, “No kidding?”

Loki beamed in response, “So, to answer a past question, no, I could not just teach _anyone_ magic. Still, though, this will take effort. Your magical center is far smaller than that of an æsir. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking. It would be a far stretch anyways...and it does not matter because you would not do it to be with...” Loki muttered and Tony realized that Loki had really meant it.

‘Me’ was the word Loki needed to finish the sentence.

Loki loved him, for some unknown reason. He had gone about getting Tony to love him back in entirely in the wrong way, but despite his best efforts, Tony was slowly falling ‘in love’ too. It had only been a little over a week, yet it felt like he had known Loki his whole life. He shook his head, and tried to push away the traitorous, absurd, irrational, and uncharacteristic thoughts, but they stuck.

Loki actually understood him when he spoke, and unlike Bruce, wasn’t scared to speak his opinions, or get into a debate with him. His eyes lit up when he spoke of his magic, science, and now, mechanical engineering. He caught on to that subject in less than a week, which was possibly the most impressive thing Tony had ever seen. This, without ever having an Earth math class in his life. He was intelligent, far beyond what Thor and the others could ever realize. He also had a witty sense of humor that was irresistible to a mischievous soul like himself. Loki told him about all the insanely fun pranks he used to pull, and Tony had to admit, he was one master of mischief and magic.

On the other hand, with no one to appreciate his art, one could see why Loki had turned bitter. It seemed like Loki was the victim of harsh bullying by Thor’s friends, and had been ignored his whole life by his father—huh, that sounded familiar—though Loki wasn’t exactly keen on advertising that part of his childhood.

“You know, if it makes you feel better, my dad was a total jackass too,” Tony said, and Loki smiled weakly, “It seems we have more than one thing in common.”

Finally, Tony broached the subject, “So, why did you invade New York?”

They were in his penthouse, and Loki was trying coffee for the first time. He had already dissed plain black, with cream, mocha, iced. Coffee in general. The only one he hadn’t made a face at so far was a vanilla latte.

His casual expression dissolved, and a grimace took its place in a moment. Tony watched his reaction. He needed to know. He needed to know what Loki’s intentions were, or he couldn’t keep living like this.

Loki looked penned and scared for a moment, brow furrowing in thought before he spoke. He was gripping his current mug so tightly that his knuckles were white, and Tony began to be concerned that he might not get the cup back in one piece.

“I don’t know, you’re a like mind, maybe you’ll understand my reasoning better that Thor and Odin. If Odin can conquer eight realms, and give them all to Thor when he becomes King, why can I not take control of the ninth, being the second prince and all?”

He looked convinced and confident in what he was saying, except for his eyes, which looked dull and lifeless, like he was repeating rehearsed lines. It made Tony’s skin crawl, and he longed to bring back that brilliant light that reflected in his emerald eyes like the facets of the gems they shared their color with. Hell, it almost hurt him to see Loki lie like this. Because he was, wasn’t he? Something just wasn’t right about Loki’s reaction and excuses. He was hiding something.

Tony frowned, deciding to probe deeper, “So your dad…”

“Thor’s father,” Loki corrected.

“Sorry, Thor’s dad has taken over realms?”

“Indeed. The damage I have caused your realm is a fraction of a fraction compared to Odin’s reign of terror, and that of his father, and his father’s father.”

“You do realize you killed over a thousand people?!”

“And did Emperor Justinian not kill off thirty thousand of his own people in one day?”

“I just had to teach you about the Byzantine Empire…” Tony groaned.

“Did Stalin not kill off twenty million of his people?”

“While you’re going, you might as well bring up Hitler and Mussolini too,” Tony snapped, “That’s not an excuse.”

“Odin’s father Bor killed a modest four and a half million souls from various planets,” Loki informed him, “That is a mere fraction compared to Odin’s death count however, which is approximately, let us see, twelve million, one hundred and five thousand and twenty four fatalities under his rule. No, wait, make that thirty nine. His soldiers just executed a group of rebels in Vanaheim.”

Tony could do nothing but gape.

“The deaths on my name number four thousand, nine hundred and forty three, and over a thousand of those deaths were only because Thanos lied to me and sent the Leviathans, along with ordering the Chitauri to kill every living thing in sight until I gained control of the planet. Ninety four of the one thousand, eight hundred beings I admit to purposefully killing were humans, most of which attempted to murder me first, by the way. The rest were killed either saving Thor and his sorry bunch of friends, because Thor goaded me into doing so, or because I was trying to prove myself to my ‘Father’.”

If he was reading Loki correctly at all, which he supposed he might not be...he wasn’t good at that sort of thing. But if he was, then...

Even as he spoke, his voice an angry hiss, the demigod looked lost and hurt. Like he was trying to convince himself, not Tony, and dramatically failing

Tony tried to process all this, “So...you didn’t…”

Loki wasn’t done yet, eyes flashing in rage and pain as he lashed out, “Oh, and if you think Thor’s so good, let me give you a clue. Thor is Odin’s favorite because of his bravery on the field of battle. Asgardians have a warped sense of bravery. As of today, Thor’s death count is an impressive four thousand, three hundred and fifty nine, all of which he killed himself.”

Yep. Someone was definitely attempting the psychoanalytic defense mechanisms known as projection and rationalization.

Tony's jaw dropped, despite his best efforts to remain neutral, “By hand? You’re kidding…”

“Not at all. We have fought in at least four planetary wars over the thousand or so years of our adolescence.”

“That’s just wrong,” Tony said.

"I do not claim that it was right," Loki said, turning to stare at the wall, eyes dark and unreadable.

"No?" Tony asked, "Then why are you trying to justify it?"

Loki sighed, finally deflating at that comment, "I know not."

He fell silent, and Tony didn't know what to say. He was afraid to say anything, for fear that he would be the one who sent Loki over the edge. Because from what he could see, Loki was teetering on the edge of insanity.

Tony sighed, then, something coming to mind, “I just realized something, though. I don’t exactly have a leg to stand on here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have my own death count to worry about,” Tony said, “I didn’t kill more than a hundred or so terrorists by hand, but…” He trailed off. He hated saying it aloud. In front of the enemy? Even worse. You were never supposed to give them that kind of leverage on you. You were perfect in the eyes of the enemy, or they would use your defects to bring you down...oh, what was he thinking?

Loki wasn’t his enemy anymore, was he? He was finally opening up, and Tony was still thinking of him as an opponent. Or maybe not.

Either there was something seriously wrong with him for even thinking about his enemy like that, or he was just a blind jackass, and he should be wondering why he still couldn’t accept that they were a thing.

But how could he? In all senses, Loki was a war criminal, and he a ‘hero’ to the people. Not to say that all people thought he was a good guy, which was what he was trying to be, mind you, but he at least had some support and acceptance in this world. Civilians believed that their Iron Man could protect them, but he was quickly realizing that he couldn’t even protect himself. And his heart...ahem, his _very logical mind_ was doing things to him that the equation-balancing had never taken into account. Why oh why did it have to be the leader of the Invasion of New York City who finally awakened his dormant emotions from hibernation? Why oh why did it have to be _him_?

“What kind of count are we talking about here?” Loki asked, noticing Tony’s frown.

“Back in the day, they called me the Merchant of Death,” Tony started and Loki winced at the title.

“Stark Industries used to sell weapons,” Tony explained, “I stopped that, when I realized that people were dying because of the weapons I was producing, and when I personally saw my weapons in the hands of terrorists. But I was too late. I was already a multi-billionaire, and thousands of people had lost their lives because of Stark Industries.”

Loki took this news in silence. Finally he smiled weakly, “Every day, we find that we have more and more in common.”

“Yippee, we both killed thousands of people,” Tony said, “Can we move on to a different topic please? This conversation is just wrong.”

“Agreed."


	10. First Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki teaches Tony magic!

Around two that afternoon, Loki sat down with him while he was attempting to meditate as Loki had told him to do.

Tony sighed, about ready to give up, “I can’t do it for more than five minutes. I’m way too ADHD.”

Loki shook his head, and walked over. He sat down Indian style directly behind Tony, and then lifted him onto his lap without warning.

“Whoa Lokes,” Tony inhaled sharply, “I don’t think turning me on is going to help me meditate.”

“Your mind is entirely in the wrong place,” Loki chided. “Don’t focus on your feelings.”

“I though you said that magic was all about feelings,” Tony whined, “Now you’re contradicting yourself.”

“Just ignore them for now. We’re going to try a different approach. Close your eyes. Try letting your feelings be. When they come, label them as thoughts and throw them away. Focus on your breathing and the points where we are touching. Don’t focus on more than one point for too long, but let them slip by continuously.”

Loki led him in breathing exercises and Tony tried doing what Loki said. He felt Loki’s chest rising and falling beneath him, and he let himself fall into the same breathing pattern. He felt tingly all over, and really calm when Loki finally said they were finished.

“How was that?” Loki asked.

“Good,” he nodded, “That was a lot easier.”

“How long do you think it’s been?” Loki asked.

“Uh, twenty, thirty minutes?”

Loki chuckled, “I knew you could do it.”

“What’s funny?” he asked, standing up and stretching out his kinks.

“It’s five o’clock, Anthony,” Loki informed him, his eyes shining.

Tony blinked. Five?! He had meditated for two and a half hours?! He looked down at his watch, just to check.

Well, what do you know? He really had.

They did the same the next day, and the next, and Loki rewarded him with great sex each night. On the fifth day, Tony wasn’t sure how long they had been meditating together when Loki spoke out of the blue, “You are ready, Tony,”

Tony startled, his eyes flying open, “Huh?”

“Relax, Pet, don’t lose it now,” Loki said, “Close your eyes, and do as I say.”

“Can do,” Tony said, leaning back again Loki’s chest again.

“Focus on your breathing, and then look deeper. Tell me, if you had magic, what color would it be?”

Tony thought long and hard, “Uh...”

“The first color that came to mind,” Loki said.

“Whitish-blue,” Tony said, “Like my arc reactor.”

“An excellent choice,” Loki smiled, “I have a feeling you are right, but we shall see. Try to relax, and I will attempt to explain this in terms you can work with. Thought this is not what is truly happening, I presume a more tangible mental representation will be helpful.”

“Okay, hit me,” Tony agreed.

“ Picture yourself as a doctor, a magical doctor, I should add.”

Tony sniggered a little.

“Focus,” Loki chided, “Picture standing over an operating table, looking down at your body. Your can see through the arc reactor and the flesh and muscles of your chest to the organs beneath. Can you see it?”

“Yep,” Tony said after a moment, not opening his eyes for fear of losing the picture, “Now what?”

“You see your ribs, enclosing your beating heart,” Loki said. “Picture yourself as the doctor, making your hand become ghostly so it may pass through the ribs to grasp the heart.”

“Yummy,” Tony nodded, “Okay, got it. And?”

“I am going to infuse you with a small rush of my magic to help you,” Loki said, pressing his hands to Tony’s sides. Tony gasped at the suddenly surge of energy and the clarity of the picture that resulted. He almost got distracted by the lull and flow of the magic over his skin, tingling and tickling him. It was quite pleasant, actually. He felt a tug in his gut, and instinctively tried to lean into the fizzling energy nuzzling him, almost like a comforting caress.

“No.” Loki said, sharply, unexpectedly. Tony flinched a little, and returned to the task at hand. Loki’s magic withdrew from him, and he was kind of sad to feel it go.

“Picture your hand squeezing your heart, and blue mist flowing from it. At the same time, clench your fist,” Loki continued his instruction.

Tony did so, and nearly lost the picture because his eyes flew open. He had felt it. In his chest, he had felt his heart being squeezed, throwing off his heartbeat for a second.

“Quickly!” Loki instructed, “Picture stretching the mist forcefully until it expands to fill the entirety of your chest cavity. It will fight you. Do not let it go, no matter what!”

And it did fight. Tony nearly lost it three times before finally getting control of it.

“Can I uh, mentally let go now?” Tony asked, muscles tense and sweat beading on his forehead.

“Do you think it will listen if you tell it to stay put?” Loki asked.

“Hell if I know,” Tony said.

“Make it yours Tony. It belongs to you, and you must make it submit.”

Tony tried to convey this to the blue mist, feeling kind of stupid. “You’re mine,” he told it, “Quit fighting.”

It seemed to work. Tony slowly loosened his mental hold on it, and it seemed to be staying in the general vicinity, and not trying to retreat back into his heart anymore.

“Good,” Loki said, “That is all for today,”

“Wow,” Tony said, “That was a rush.”

Loki laughed, “In a few days, we may begin working on summoning your magic to your hands.”

He demonstrated, green mist swirling around his fingers and Tony cried, “No way! Already?!”

“You are very good at it. Most have to attempt several times before they can successfully pull their magic from its hiding place within their core. I am shocked, for it is well known that regular mortals cannot wield magic. Yet you are able, and better than many an Asgardian or Vanir.”

Tony grinned, “What can I say? I’m a natural at everything I do.”

Loki smirked back, “Do not lie, Pet. I have heard you singing in the shower. Your melodies would put a bilge-snipe’s screech to shame.”

Tony felt his cheeks warm ever so slightly. Damn it, why was he blushing all of a sudden now, with Loki of all people? “You watch me shower?”

“Did I say I watch you shower? I have merely stopped by once to see if you wanted to...meet me in the...ah….what was it again?”

Tony smirked now, “For a God of Lies, you’d think you’d be better at telling them…”

It was Loki’s turn to splutter, “Excuse me?”

“Oh, don’t try to deny it now, I know you’re hopelessly infatuated with me.”

“What gave you this idea?” Loki snapped, “I like being around you simply for your intelligence and...”

“My sex? Of course, but I thought you loved me since you first met me, right babe?"

Loki’s mouth opened, “You…oh…”

“I’m sorry, was I not meant to hear that?” Tony teased, “Better make sure I’m actually asleep next time before you start saying ridiculously sappy Hallmark channel stuff."

Loki blushed pink, and Tony was still surprised at how adorable it made him look. He suppressed a smile.

Loki was not the only one with a bit of a crush.


	11. Make Me Yours

_—==Tuesday, May 23rd==—_

A week later, Loki determined that he was finally ready, and instructed him on how to pull his magic to his fingertips. He tried and tried, but it just wasn’t working. Huh. Kind of like his relationships.

Yet this one seemed to be okay? Great? He honestly had no idea anymore. He was just going with the flow.

“You can do it, Anthony,” Loki encouraged him, taking his hands. “Coax the magic down your arms; use force if you have to.”

“I’m trying,” Tony whined, and he really was, but it just kept slipping away from him.

“The more you do it, the easier it will become,”

“Practice makes perfect,” Tony sighed, “I get it.”

“You know, that is also an Asgardian phrase,” Loki laughed.

“It’s an everywhere phrase,” Tony snapped, because he had let the blue mist slip away again, “Stop distracting me.”

“My apologies.”

Tony focused as hard as he could. Come on!

“You must relax,” Loki said, “Magic sometimes cannot flow when you are tense.”

Everything seemed so conflicting. He was supposed to use force, but he was also supposed to be relaxed. He was supposed to not feel, yet focus on his feelings. Good grief, magic was confusing.  
But Tony obeyed, tried let his muscles loosen up while picturing pulling on the magic at the same time, and that’s when it happened. Like a breach in a dam, the magic flowed down his arms and into his cupped hands. He saw in his mind’s eye his magic seeping out of his skin. He felt his hands tingling, but was afraid to open his eyes for fear of losing it.

“Go ahead,” Loki said, “Take a look.”

Tony slowly opened one eye.

Eerie blue-white flames were dancing in his palms.

His eyes burst open, and he yelped, shaking his hands like he was being burned, though he felt no pain. The flames flickered and went out.

“Holy shit,” Tony whispered, still staring at his hands.

“I knew you could do it,” Loki smiled. Tony smiled back, and then pressed his lips to Loki’s.

Loki’s eyes went wide. Tony smirked inwardly, grabbing Loki’s hand and practically dragging him to the bedroom.

It was the first time he had initiated sex so eagerly like this, and he had successfully stunned the god.

He laid down on the bed waiting for Loki to do whatever he wanted. Loki just stood there, a smile growing on his face. Tony frowned, “Are you going to fuck me or not?”

Loki chuckled suddenly, tilting his head, “You did so well today. I think you deserve a little something in return, hmm?”

“And what’s that?” Tony asked, sitting up on the edge of the bed

“’Tis your turn,” Loki smiled.

Tony’s arousal had never gone up faster. His pupils blew wide, “Wait, what?!”

Loki smirked devilishly and Tony groaned, “You want me to…”

“Make me yours,” Loki purred, and went as if he were going to sit in Tony’s lap before pulling away. His thighs brushed against Tony’s erection teasingly, and he turned his head slightly back to catch Tony’s eye, smirking over his shoulder. Yep, he was sexy and he knew how to use it...

“Ohhh…damn.” Tony whispered, standing up quickly and grabbing the god, wondering how this was happening. He was about to take the dominating god that fucked him until he passed out. He wasn’t sure if he could live up to that.

He quickly removed Loki’s shirt, kissing him hungrily. For once, Loki let him dominate the kiss, running his fingers through Tony’s hair and pulling him deeper into that sensational lip-lock that seemed like the first kiss every time they did it. He pushed Loki back until his legs hit the bed, and the god laid down for him, shockingly submissive. Suddenly, though, he was looking a bit nervous.

Tony smiled at him reassuringly. He hoped Loki wasn’t having second thoughts.

Tony quickly rid him of his offending trousers, and palmed his growing erection, determined to make this as good for the god as it always was for him. Loki moaned into Tony’s mouth, and heat rushed to the inventor’s lower regions as he undressed himself. He slicked up his fingers, and slid one digit into the god, already marveling at the sheer tightness of Loki’s flesh. Loki shuddered at first, looking uncomfortable, but then he relaxed, breath hitching as Tony slipped the digit in and out. He found he was able to slip in two fingers after a moment , and then three, and Loki looked like he was already in heaven.

“Oh sweet Valhalla, Pet, yes… right there,” he made a guttural groan as Tony searched inside of him for that magical spot, and apparently found it.

Tony smirked, pressing kisses to Loki’s stomach and thighs while he prepared him, “Got you covered, Vixen.”

“More,” Loki demanded after no time at all, “I need more...please.”

He pulled out his fingers, bending a pliant Loki over the edge of the bed and lining himself up, his cock throbbing with anticipation.

“You sure you want this?” he barely remembered to ask.

“I want you. Tony, take me.” Loki pleaded.

“I just...I don’t know how to fuck guys, you know. Hoping it works the same way as with women, but I really don’t want to hurt you.”

“You probably won’t,” Loki said, and then turned around and smirked at him, hooded eyes flashing, “But even if you did...well, I do believe I am a bit of a ‘masochist’ as well. Ruin me, Anthony.”

And if that wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever heard…

It was all the incentive Tony needed. He pressed his throbbing arousal into Loki, his mouth immediately falling open in ecstasy. Loki was so tight and hot and good around his cock. He didn’t know if it was the endorphins or what, but it was like he was having sex for the first time again, like he had never fucked someone before in his life. He thrust in a second time, gently. He had to start slow to get a hold of himself before he ended up _actually_ hurting Loki, or so he thought, until Loki hissed, “Tony! Move, please!”

Right...demigod…got it. He abandoned all attempts at restraint, his hips bucking of their own accord. He hit Loki’s prostate on his first try; he could tell by the god’s strangled cry...pure luck. But then again, every slam made him cry out loudly, the god meeting his thrusts, body undulating like a wave with Tony’s own movement, and Tony nearly came right then and there.

He groaned at the combined effect of the intense heat squeezing his length , and the sight of a sexy wanton Loki, bent over the bed and taking his cock up his ass, his mouth forming an o of pleasure.

Oh, fuck, this was insane. He was fucking Loki. Not the other way around.

Loki quickly looked like he was feeling just as helpless and lost beneath Tony as he did whenever Loki took him. His eyes were screwed shut and he was shivering at each strike. It was ethereal, in all honesty. He ran his hands over Loki’s oh-so-smooth skin and thick muscle, marveling as it relaxed and tensed beneath his touch.

After a few thrusts, he picked up the pace, pounding into that tight little space with reckless abandon. Loki was made of tough stuff, being an Asgardian like Thor, and Tony figured he could handle it, especially since he had himself. And, oh, the result was so beautiful.

Loki was repeating his name like a mantra with increased frenzy, with pleas for more that spurred Tony into a frenzy. He slipped one of his hands over Loki’s tight stomach muscles before wrapping it around Loki’s forgotten erection. The god jerked at his touch, and with few tight squeezes up and down his length, Loki bucking into his hand and back to meet Tony’s thrusts, the god was there, coming with a keening cry on the sheets. Loki’s already-tight ass clenched around his length, and gods it was so good. Steadying his irregular breathing and gathering his thoughts was difficult, as the pleasure nearly tipped him over the edge into oblivion. He didn’t slow, thrusting hard and fast into Loki’s fluttering hole.

Tony grabbed the god’s hips with a bruising grip, and lifted his limp, willing body further up onto the bed for a better angle. Loki wanted to be ruined? He was going to give it to him. He slammed into Loki so hard the headboard rattled and his own cock gave a flare of pain, and Loki cried his true name like it was a lifeline, fingers scrabbling weakly at the sheets. The inventor sucked and nipped the back of Loki’s neck, taking the opportunity to mark his god in a possessive way that made him nearly giddy with a strange pleasure. He had never really bitten a lover like this before, but Loki was clearly into it, if his shocked but pleasured gasps and swiftly hardening arousal were anything to go by. Tony experimented a bit, roughly twisting and pinching his pert nipples with calloused fingers, all the while ramming into his over-stimulated prostate again and again, and Loki screamed, moaning and writhing beneath his abuse. He was nearly dying with held-back pleasure, a trick he had taught himself over the many years of...nope, he didn’t want to think about that right now. Let’s just say that he never had an unhappy customer, and he always finished exactly on time. It wasn’t just his money and fame that attracted the women, you know. He shook his head. No more about women. Just Loki.

Oh gods of Asgard, he just wanted to make this night half as good as his first for the beautiful creature he was penetrating. He fucked the god with everything he had in him, determined to wear out the stronger being before he ran out of energy to do so. He quickly stroked Loki’s growing arousal back to rock hardness, the god making absolutely filthy noises at every touch. Finally, Loki came again, screaming his pleasure, his body glistening with sweat and his whole form quaking with effort. He slumped forward, legs dangling off the end of the bed and his hair mussed. It was glorious to watch. Just gorgeous.

But wow, only two times tonight, huh? Loki didn’t look like he was about to go another round. So he didn’t even need to be worried...Guess even gods didn’t hold out long when they were fucked hard in the backside. Given how much more overwhelming it was, he could understand that.

Immensely satisfied and unable to hold out anymore, Tony finally spilled inside Loki with a groan, pumping the god through the aftershocks and slowly coming to a stop as he became too sensitive for even such a gentle rocking motion.

After a moment to catch his breath, he slipped out, Loki’s still-quivering body falling limp against him, and fuck if that wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever seen. 

“You were so good for me, baby,” he praised, lifting Loki onto the bed and brushing a sweaty strand of hair off the god’s forehead as his eyes fluttered shut, “Two in a row, and you took my cock so well.”

Tony smiled as he looked down at his masterpiece, his utterly broken god laying sprawled out naked on his bed, ebony hair splayed about his head, porcelain skin flushed pink in his neck and cheeks, soft skin of his neck speckled with bite marks and bruises, and backside raw with a load of his come oozing out between those smooth ivory thighs...so perfectly ruined, so unbelievably gorgeous, and so entirely his. 

He sprawled out on the sheets, mess be damned, and wrapped his arms around his slumbering god, pulling him close and kissing his cheek.

“Love you, Lokes,” he whispered.

And he meant it.


	12. I Can't Lose You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Accidental Voyeurism. Sort of.  
> You weren't ready for this chapter, were you? mwahahaha...

_\--==Natasha’s POV==--_

Natasha Romanoff was getting more and more suspicious the longer she stayed in the tower. Stark would probably say that she was always suspicious, but she knew when things were off. Stark wasn’t telling her the whole truth, and he had acted especially dodgy during lunch that day, looking down at his watch and running off to his personal rooms like he was late for a meeting. In fact, every day he was missing for several hours at the exact same time, and he had to be heading off to his personal gym or the three guest floors above the so-called 'Avengers floors' rather than his lab, since he was taking the stairs instead of the elevator. There was no way that he was walking up the ten or eleven flights of stairs between the Avengers Lounge and his lab or penthouse. Which Natasha knew was very abnormal for him, since he usually migrated to his lab at some point in the middle of the day and never came out again until dinner, according to Pepper and her own observations while she had been monitoring his health. If he was using the gym it would make sense, but he clearly used the enormous multi-floor facility he was now calling the 'Avenger's Gym' for his exercise earlier in the mornings. Natasha had used it a few times already, and she noticed that Tony had even installed a high-tech archery range with moving holographic targets for Barton. She already seen Stark in there once today, so it was very unlikely that he was exercising again. Meaning he had to be going to one of the three extra floors, two of which were empty space for later additions, at least according to Stark himself, and the lowest of which was connected to the open stairwell adjoining the floors set aside for the Avengers. She had quite frankly been impressed and surprised by how much thought and effort the egotistical billionaire had put into preparing a place for the team to live and train. He seemed to genuinely want the others to stay.

Back on the topic of Stark's strange behavior, she knew Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan resided on that extra floor, but she also knew Pepper had been out on a business trip for SI all week, and Tony couldn't possibly be spending time with Happy today since the chauffeur was out waiting for Clint's plane to come in. Clint was supposed to get here within the hour now, and she knew he had been looking forward to the archer coming to live with him. And yet, he hadn't made a peep about it all day. So, what exactly was Stark up to? When Clint arrived, and Stark didn’t show, she began to get irritated. Either the billionaire was hiding something big, was flying around in his Iron-Man suit, or was deathly ill. She got the feeling it wasn’t the last two options. He had been acting sketchy the last two weeks, and she was actually getting rather worried. She was particularly concerned about his confession of the strange “nightmares” he’d been having lately. Natasha knew he wasn’t being entirely honest about them.

She tried to assume the best, which was never easy for a former spy. Maybe he was seeing a therapist, and was too embarrassed to tell anyone? Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. Something about these nightmares was making him act like this, and she was determined to find out what.

_\--==Clint's POV==--_

“Where’s T-bone?” Clint asked, setting down the large suitcases that he had insisted upon carrying himself beside a sofa with a puff.

“I don’t know. He’s been acting strange lately,” Natasha said.

“More so than normal?” Clint laughed, flopping down on a couch, and reaching for the remote.

“He’s hiding something.” Nat sighed. Clint paused, actually turning to look at her now.

“Like what?”

“He’s been having nightmares lately,” was all Nat said, her eyes dark and unreadable.

“So he needs a therapist or something?” Clint snorted, “We all have nightmares after that fiasco with Loki.”

“He’s having…different nightmares,” Natasha said, “For his sake, I will leave the contents to your imagination.”

“Torture?” Clint winced. Or just nightmares about his otherworldly experience. Poor guy. He could relate, but it seemed that Tony had actually gotten the shorter end of the stick, after having flown that nuke into the portal in the sky. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t really have many nightmares about Loki himself. He remembered trying to fight back a little, and a bit of fear, but Loki had almost seemed nice once he was on his side. No. What gave him nightmares was this dark presence that had always been present during his time as a traitor. Something evil in the mind control that didn’t really seem to be coming from Loki, which brought him physical and mental pain…he guessed it was just the ‘glow stick of destiny,’ as Tony called it. That was what haunted and befuddled him, and was quite frankly driving him nuts. Hence why he preferred to just not think about it.

Natasha shook her head. He didn’t know why, but he was able to read something in her expression, and it confused him.

“What do you mean? What else could it be then?” Clint asked, and then reconsidered, “Oh. That?”

Right then. Tony was a guy, but that seemed to be what Natasha was hinting at. He was usually pretty good at reading the assassin. She nodded.

“Should we check up on him?” Clint asked.

“Probably,” Nat said, “I haven’t talked to him but once about it, and he hasn’t brought it up again, but maybe he’ll be more open to you.”

“Yeah, probably,” Clint shrugged, “Hey Jarvis, where’s Tony?”

There was silence.

“Jarvis?” Nat asked, “JARVIS!”

Clint heart gave a double beat. “Shit.” He flipped open his case and grabbed his bow, exchanging a solemn look with Natasha, “This is bad.”

“No kidding,” Natasha said grimly, racing up the stairs because Jarvis operated the elevators up here and taking two steps at a time. She apparently knew the override pass code to get into Tony’s penthouse, because she was already punching in numbers on the keypad. The door swung open with a small beep. The penthouse was dark and there were choked screams coming from Tony’s room.

“Oh god,” Clint whispered, “Nightmares? Or…”

“That’s no nightmare…” Nat shook her head.

They crept in silently. No use in giving themselves away just yet. Better to take the enemy by surprise. There was a narrow beam of light from the closed door of Tony’s bedroom, and pained cries echoed from within. Not good…

“Something….Something’s not right,” Natasha hissed, “That’s not someone having nightmares, too loud and constant for that...or being tortured either. I would know. I’m actually not sure _what_ it is...”

Nothing in the world could have prepared them for what they saw when they cracked open the door.

Clint’s jaw dropped as he watched the scene play out before them, couldn’t take his eyes away, like a car accident was happening in front of him.

Tony was ramming his dick into the backside of one very debauched God of Mischief. It looked like Loki was being raped or something, Tony was being so rough.

Loki himself, not Tony, was the source of the screaming and moaning, limp under Tony’s ruthless pounding. It appeared that Thor’s brother had already climaxed once, given the soiled sheets. Tony was now mercilessly fucking a half-unconscious Loki, skin slapping loudly and the bed creaking. Loki’s milky-white skin was covered in a sheen of sweat, his neck and shoulders speckled with hickeys and bite marks. He raised off the bed, his mouth open in tortured ecstasy as Tony cruelly twisted his nipples. They watched in horrified awe as Tony stroked Loki’s arousal back up in less than a minute, smirking all the while. Loki was producing sounds straight out of a freaking porn video: filthy moans, and broken whimpers. The inventor bit Loki’s neck, and with another rough squeeze of his dick, Loki climaxed as they watched, unable to tear their eyes away, letting out a guttural scream, his back arching. Tony finally ended his assault, groaning whorishly as he released into the god. Clint and Nat just stood there, their bow and gun lowered, too shocked to move or speak.

Tony slipped his pride and joy out of Loki, the ravished god falling lax against him.

“You were so good for me, baby,” Tony smirked, gently brushing sweaty strands of hair off of the now-unconscious god’s forehead, “Two in a row, and you took my cock so well.”

Tony cuddled up against Loki, wrapping his arms around the criminal, and nuzzling his neck. There was silence, time for Clint to process all he had just seen. Tony kissed the god’s cheek, and whispered, barely audible, something that was even more shocking than seeing him hardcore screw the guy.

“Love you, Lokes,” he murmured.

Clint finally reacted, letting out a quiet choked sob. This couldn’t be happening. He was dreaming, surely. Some fucked-up dream this was, too.

Tony heard, and bolted upright, arms raised in defense, and his wide eyes found Clint’s.

“No…” Tony whispered, “Not now...not yet!”

Nat strutted into the room, shoving a yelling Tony aside and pressing her gun to the unconscious god’s temple without further discussion.

Tony threw himself at the Widow, eyes wide but determined, and she kicked him back down. He gasped, breath knocked out of him, "Jarvis, unmute. Activate protocol..." Clint raised his bow, with a horrible feeling of resignation, and tapped the wickedly-sharp arrow tip against Tony’s head to let him know it was there.

"Jarvis, don't make me do it," Clint warned. The AI wisely stayed silent. He wanted to close his eyes and escape it all. He could hardly stand to look at the brunette right now, much less shoot his former friend, but if he had to... No, he couldn’t think about that. Tony might still be savable. Maybe he was under mind control? God, this was a disaster. He felt more than slightly nauseous.

“Stark, I tried to warn you before you made a bad choice. Apparently you didn’t listen,” Nat said grimly, and Clint wondered how much she knew about this beforehand, “I have my orders. Stand down now, or I’ll take you out as well.”

“We were wrong,” Tony choked, “Wrong about him, about Thor. Do it, kill me if you have to. I won’t let you take him from me now that I’ve just gotten him!”

Nat sighed, “How were we wrong, Stark?"

“He’s kind, intelligent, funny,” Tony murmured, “Call it Stockholm syndrome if you want, but ever since he broke the contract, I’ve realized that I can’t let this slip away from me. I’m happy, for once, and I have a reason to live. I’m in love N-ro. For the first time in my goddamn life, I’m really in love.”

Loki blinked sleepily, now awake and getting up out of the bed, and muttered, “You...you are?”

Tony smiled weakly, and looking down at Loki, answered without hesitation, “Yes. Yes, I’m in love with you.”

“And I with you,” Loki said quietly, his eyes wide as he noted the situation. Clint found he couldn’t glare as easily at this sleepy, seemingly-innocent Loki. It didn’t help that both he and Tony were entirely nude. He couldn’t get the picture of Tony fucking Loki out of his head!

“For God’s sake, could you get some clothes on?” he muttered unhappily. He was entirely torn, unsure of what to do anymore.

He watched down his arrow sight as Tony threw on some clothes, handing a sleepy Loki a pair of boxer briefs and well-worn AC/DC shirt that Clint had seen several times on Tony himself. He knew that Tony would never let anyone else wear that shirt, yet here he was casually tossing it to public enemy number one like it was no big deal.

Loki flashed green, clothed instantly, but then he stumbled and would have fallen had Tony not caught him.

“Whoa there, Bambi,” he said, “No magic for you right now.”

Nat glared, “No ‘magic,’ period, or this bullet goes in your skull. Tony, we’ll take him back to S.H.I.E.L.D., and I’ll make sure he gets a fair trial before he’s executed. That’s the only thing I can promise you. We made it perfectly clear to both him and Thor that if he were to return here, we would have full rights to execute him for his war crimes, and we would do it without hesitation.”

“Yeah. That. Be glad I...still consider you my friend, T-bone. I might vouch for you, because you’re known for making reckless, self-endangering decisions and shit, but the guy’s gonna die.” Clint cried, putting a hand on Tony’s shoulder, eyes begging him to see reason, “Please, please don’t go down with him.”

“He hasn’t hurt anyone since he got here!” Tony protested, shoving Clint’s arm off of him, and meeting Natasha’s dark, emotionless eyes without flinching, and shoving her away long enough to grab Loki. But now the two were backed up against the wall with nowhere to run, under aim of bow and gun, “And fair trial?“Fair according to who? According to you? Clint? Fury? How about I decide what’s fair for the guy, considering I’ve been the one living with him for the past three….no, _four_ weeks?”

“I think the word of his brother will suffice,” Natasha said, “And Thor already told us that he was dangerous and cunning and not to be trusted. I think we’ve all seen that much.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, but Loki turned and silenced him with a sudden kiss. The god pulled away reluctantly, his gaze infinitesimally sad. He glanced up at Clint, his mournful eyes making Clint’s heart throb with a brief spark of undue sympathy, and walked over to Black Widow, offering up his wrists. No fight, huh?

“Loki, no!” Tony cried, his normally suave voice cracking as he started to follow Loki across the room. Clint was shocked speechless when he realized that there was now a tear making its way down the billionaire’s cheek as he spoke, “What the hell are you doing? You’re just giving up? We can fight!”

“I must, Anthony. I must go where you cannot follow. Do not come after me, no matter what they tell you. I cannot allow them to hurt you,” Loki stressed, looking back at him with a sad, sad smile.

Nat looked surprised at this little self-sacrificing speech, but cuffed up the suddenly-submissive god’s wrists and neck without a word, while Clint came over and began attaching the ankle cuffs.

“They’ll kill you, you heard them...god-dammit! I can’t lose you!” Tony sobbed.

“No, they won’t,” Loki grinned suddenly, his mournful expression dissolving like a spell had been broken, “They were never here.”

Before he could even process, Loki had grabbed both his and Nat’s arms. Nat tried to jerk her hand away, but even her almost-instant reaction was too slow. A tingling feeling went up his arm, over his shoulder, and into his neck, and with brief flash of white hot pain in his forehead, he remembered no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EHEHEHE! Tricked you! I could never put my boys through any more pain and heartache...well, not much at least.  
> Don't worry too much about the accidental eyeful that Black Widow and Hawkeye got, 'cause they remember nothing. ;)


	13. Key to My Lock

_\--==Tony’s POV==--_

“They’ll kill you, you heard them...god-dammit! I can’t lose you!” Tony sobbed, pounding a fist on his dresser, hard, and welcoming the flare of pain that shot through his wrist.

He had finally found happiness. He finally felt like he belonged in his own building, like he had a place in the world. He’d never really realized how much he felt like he was faking. Just trying to get by, not sure what he was really doing. A snarky comment here, a witty comeback there, and all for what? So the world didn’t see just how scared the great Iron Man really was? Making sure they never saw their hero curled in a ball on the ground in the midst of a lung-crushing panic attack? So they didn’t know that the man piloting those high-tech suits would avoid sleep for many weeks after the Invasion because of the nightmares that woke him up sweating and gasping at three in the morning? So they didn’t realize just how messed up of a man he was, or at least, used to be, before Loki came along?

He hadn’t had another panic attack or nightmare since he had been together with Loki.

Not a single one.

He didn’t know how, or why, but Loki had somehow healed him. Just like that. Gone.

Not to mention, Loki had opened so many doors for him, and he could never shut them all again. The thought of losing his beautiful, sexy super-genius lover stung now, like a searing pain in his chest right behind the glow of his arc-reactor.

“No, they won’t,” Loki grinned suddenly, inexplicably, making his brain struggle as it suddenly rerouted from its impending downward spiral, “They were never here.”

Like a snake striking, he grabbed Natasha and Clint’s arms, and they struggled for only a second before going stock still and falling unconscious. Loki used his grip on their arms to at least slow their falls, though he looked like he was about to pass out himself. Loki grinned triumphantly, and then toppled over too. Tony just barely caught him before he hit the floor.

“Loki! You alright?”

“Yes, Anthony, just very faint. Two simultaneous Minnisleysi spells, to you, mind wipes, would take a lot out of me even at full stamina.”

“You wiped their…” Tony gaped.

“Recent memories only. They will not remember this encounter whatsoever,” Loki smirked, thought there was a hint of pain flickering behind the pride, “So that there is not a gap in their memories, I have inserted false memories of them finding you holed up in your lab reprogramming your AI, with a difficult Fölsuð Minningar spell calling on Laguz. 'Tis my rune of choice, the letter L in the Asgardian Futhark Alphabet, and is used for illusions and memory spells. Someday you as well must choose a set of runes by which to work more complex spells.”

Tony nodded, only catching some of that spew of foreign words. His rapidly beating heart slowed to a more reasonable pace, the adrenaline flooding his system lessening as he took a deep breath of utter relief. They were safe.

He wasn't losing Loki. 

Not today.

Loki explained that his inserted memories also had them going to bed after saying ‘goodnight’ to him, so all they had to do was arrange their belongings how they had left them in the false memory and set them up in bed. It was easier said than done, carrying the decently-muscled archer with Loki on the verge of passing out again. At least it wasn’t Steve or Thor, so they could thank their lucky stars for that.

Tony would wonder, later, if some ‘hardcore’ sex and some memory spells were all that happened that night, because Loki seemed to be able to do a lot of magic before he reached the point of exhaustion.

“I...I am so… damn…” Tony took a shaky breath and pressed himself against the taller man once they were finished. Loki put his arms over his shoulders, leaning against him heavily. 

“That was incredible,” Tony finally said, enjoying the proximity to his god and never wanting to let go, “And that was some damn good acting. You deserve an Oscar.”

“Thank you. But I meant what I said. 'twas not entirely acting, because I knew not if I could pull off such a difficult spell on two people at once. I was unsure if I would...but...Did you mean what you...what you said?” Loki asked, for once stuttering over his words, “You, ah, you really?”

Tony nodded, genuinely smiling at the love of his life, his former enemy.

“I meant every word of it.”

Loki smiled, eyes shining now, “I’m yours, if you would take me.”

“Take you as my wi...er, rather husband?” Tony asked, confused. He found himself hoping, crazily enough, that this is what Loki meant.

“I know not well your Midgardian marriage rituals,” Loki confessed, “I, well, I have been meaning to tell you something. When I gave you a rush of my magic...well…”

“What?” Tony asked.

Loki smile was blinding, “There is a reason, Anthony Edward Stark, why I could not resist my attraction to you. I am sorry, for what I did, and I hope...It is the same reason why you so quickly forgave me for what I have done to you and your race, why you just said what you did. We are meant for each other.”

Tony raised an eyebrow, “Okay? What are you trying to say, Prancer? That we’re a match made in heaven or something?”

“Yes, but the ideal pairing in this case is based off of magic. There is only one soul in the universe who is your perfect magical fit, like a key that can only fit one lock.”

“Oh, I get it. Soul mates,” Tony said, “You’re telling me that’s actually a thing?”

Loki laughed, “So you have heard of it! There are many others with which you could be very happy, but it is like picking that lock instead of opening it correctly. The probability of finding your one true match is like finding...a needle in a thousand haystacks, to use one of your idioms.”

Tony nodded, an eager smile growing on his face.

“I have found the needle, the key to my lock,” Loki beamed back, “We are irresistible to each other because we are soul mates. I knew it from the moment your magic touched mine, tried to mix, that it was true. Our magics do not repulse each other, like they do for most beings. They want to bond, and so we in turn want one another.”

Tony laughed and embraced his lover, “I knew it! I just knew there was a reason why I’ve been acting so irrationally! Heck to the yes, I’m yours babe.”

Loki smiled, but he took on a serious expression, “Are you certain?”

“Ninety nine point nine percent sure,” Tony grinned.

“Then I would bond with you,” Loki whispered, “I need to make sure you are certain, Anthony. Just because we are soul-mates does not mean you have to do this. It is permanent. Until your death you will be bound to me, and I to you. Though we live quite different life spans. Are you sure...are you sure you want that?"


	14. Bound Souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle your seat belts, folks, 'cause you're in for one heck of a roller coaster ride!
> 
> Trigger Warning: Brief but semi-graphic depictions of past torture and underage rape.

_—==Wednesday, May 30th==—_

Tony didn’t have to think about it for long.

Cons list? He couldn’t ever leave or abandon Loki. He couldn’t extract himself from this relationship, no matter how long it went on or how dangerous or complicated it became. He could never have another lover again.

Pros list? Loki would never abandon him. He would get to write a crazy, complicated love story with a sexy, genius demigod who was infatuated with _him_ , a human. And he would get to spend every single day he had left with the love of his life.

Less than a week later, he returned with the answer. He already knew that if he could, he would spend the rest of his life with Loki. Crazy, right?

“Yes. I want you, and only you. No more hesitation. I’m ready.

Loki smiled quietly, looking worn out as it was. Tony wondered if this was going to exert his magic even further.

“Then brace yourself,” Loki warned.

Tony frowned, “This isn’t going to brand me again is it? Cause while I have always wanted to get a tattoo, that shit’s not what I had in mind.”

Loki laughed, carefree and light, “I know not what it will do. There have not been soul-mates since the legendary Asgardian and Alf couple during Bor’s reign.”

Tony grinned, “So we’re going to be legendary?”

“Perhaps so,” Loki smiled and then pressed himself to Tony, kissing him gently, and Tony’s heart fluttered with a rush of emotion for this magical being that was his soul-mate. Damn, all the gushy one liners. It was like someone had fried all his brain circuits and now he could no longer manipulate language to describe his experiences...nor his feelings, apparently. But maybe he had always been this way. He had just never...loved anyone like this before.

“Call on your magic,” Loki said, breaking away from the kiss.

Tony tried, and it came easily this time, as if it knew what was about to happen.

He shut his eyes, and in his mind’s eye, he saw the tiny blue clump of his magic, swirling in a infinite void. A giant mass of swirling green mist and light, a beautiful yet deadly lightning storm, loomed nearby. A long snake-like tendril of green mist and fire unfurled itself from the mass, as if inviting him. Without even trying, a tiny strand of his magic jumped forward. The green strand raced toward his, and when the tendrils clashed, there was a blinding flash of white light, and a warm tingly feeling all over his body.

It wasn’t over yet though. The green swirled in spirals around his strand, racing toward his own glowy blue-white bundle, and without slowing, it penetrated his magical core.

The feeling was literally indescribable. If he even thought he could do it justice with the English language, he would have given his best shot, but there are just some things you can’t say with words. This was one of them. To sum it up, this was the best, happiest, most perfect feeling he’d ever felt in his whole life, like he had found the huge piece in his heart that he didn’t even realize he was missing. Yeah that sounded really, really cheesy. Point proven.

He finally understood, now, why Loki was so tired. He understood everything that Loki had been thinking, and so he now knew that every time they had gotten close, especially during sex, Loki was having to keep Tony’s magic from practically jumping into his own core and binding them together without Tony even knowing it. And he was trying to accomplish this using…tendrils of his own magic, which also wanted to attack Tony’s core. How he had even been managing to keep them apart was baffling.

And the fact that he was fighting to give Tony a choice in the matter was even more baffling.

But Tony understood now.

He had black-mailed and coerced him into sex; there was no maneuvering about that little fact, but now...he was different. He would not force this bonding with Tony, no matter how much pain it was causing him, until Tony had given the okay.

And now it was okay. Their magic was together, forever, apparently, and Loki could relax.

And so could Tony, because Loki had never had any intention of harming him.

He had been faking, this whole time, his front of bold, proud, cynical, and heartless god. He had been lying to himself, telling himself that the only way Tony could ever want him was in a sexual sense… and even then, only if he was forced, made to enjoy it. He had hoped Tony would beg for more if he did a good job, but he never expected to see Tony express such interest. He didn’t think himself capable of being...liked...or even loved. Wait, what the actual hell?

 _‘Why would he ever want me?’_ Loki’s tumultuous mind had thought in the past, _‘Him, a Prince of Midgard in his own right. Me a cast out monster, unwanted by two families, and one who has harmed him and his dear friends so...I cannot be loved, no...why must I feel this way? O cruel Norns. To think that I have not a heart, when I feel such ache... And, so soon. I disrespect her, them….I cannot…’_

Then later, _‘I must end this...it cannot continue in this way. I am hurting him, taking from him like...like...the savage that I am! I am a seiðr, but not one of them…they are so very different. I am the beast that my true Father was…Oh end it all, Norns take my accursed soul to Helheim. Why am I so weak, that I cannot control myself. I love him...Gah! How can I love again...like this...a man. A mere Midgardian MAN. And yet...you know he is...so much more than that. A purely brilliant mortal, with a fascinating mind and a quick tongue. Beautiful, tempting, desired by much of his kind. But I desire him most! I will have him, I will….’_ and then he was getting a brief thought of the many things Loki had dreamed of doing to him, of having Tony do to him. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone, replaced with anger and more self-hatred, _‘No. Let this pass from me...Let him go, son of Laufey. You are no æsir...lies. All lies. Liesmith. Trickster. You know you are nothing compared to him. A stolen relic. A remnant of a cursed civilization that did not even want such a failure from birth.’_

From the second their magic touched, he felt the real Loki. The tormented, self-doubting, timid, and emotional Loki that was cowering behind his front.

Tony could relate.

And, oh, what a relief it was to know all of this.

There was really no other reason he had come to Earth, no plan to conquer or to get a warped revenge. Just sheer, overwhelming want, driven by his magic urging him to seek contact and creating an inescapable desire that tugged at his very soul. It was far, far more powerful that the strange urges that Tony had been feeling, since Loki had such immense volumes of magic when compared to him.

Hunger and want, and now love.

He really did love him. An alien loved him, and the surge of emotion he was feeling flow through Loki and into him was more powerful than any feeling he’d ever personally felt.

And then his life flashed before his eyes in a series of rapid-fire snippets: every success, every failure, every moment of pleasure and of great pain, every longing, hope, every dream he’d ever had. His brain had no problem keeping up with the insane barrage of information. He knew that Loki could see it too, and he realized in that moment that he didn’t mind.

If there was one person he could trust with his painful secrets, it was Loki. He would give Loki everything.

He sensed Loki’s sympathy when he lost his parents and then Jarvis. He felt Loki’s pain, at seeing him hurt and betrayed by Obadiah. He felt Loki’s anger at the terrorists in Afghanistan and even a surge of jealousy when he was kissing Pepper, but it was only faint. Loki knew he had Tony now, and he wasn’t worried about his messed-up past, or his mistakes, or anything.

Loki’s own life flashed before his eyes as well, overlaying with his own, but he could see and process them both at once.

Loki being lifted up into the air by Frigga as a smiling toddler.

Frigga, singing him to sleep.

Loki as a toddler, crawling into his older brother’s bed, crying because of a nightmare about something called ‘monstrous Jotunns,’ and Thor comforting him by telling him he would kill off all the ‘Jotunns’ one day when he was King. Wow. Thor was a...very vicious toddler.

Loki being taught the art of illusions by Frigga.

Loki showing a wide-eyed Thor what he had learned to do, or reading a passage from a story to him. The two brothers used to be close...

But when the jerks that were the Warriors Three and Sif came along, they drove them apart. Thor, who had previously spent time with Loki in the library and read adventure books that Loki found for him, now denied ever enjoying reading in front of Loki and the jerks, and said that reading was a "Silly thing that I did just to indulge my little brother's fancies." Before thumping Loki on the shoulder and running off with his new friends, leaving his younger brother standing there with an expression of shock on his face...

Loki being bullied by Thor's new friends.

Loki pulling harmless pranks and being scolded so severely that he went back to his chambers and cried.

Thor begging Loki to go on a hunt with him, or to spar.

Loki poring through endless books in an absolutely massive, yet entirely empty library.

Loki being punished, for things that Thor did, things that Sif, or Fandral, or Hogun did.

Loki being called Ergi, amongst other cruel and degrading remarks.

Thor attempting to lift Mjölnir in the weapons vault as a young teen. Loki watched as the god became frustrated with his failed efforts, and finally stormed out, looking livid.

Loki standing there still, looking at the hammer with a puzzled expression, and tentatively wrapping his small fingers around its handle...and it moved. He...wait, what?! Loki was worthy?

The teenaged god looked shocked with himself and yelped a bit, dropping it. He slowly stooped over and picked up the weapon gingerly, and replaced it on its stand, looking very shaken. He glanced around furtively with a guilty expression on his face, and then quickly exited.

Tony was befuddled. Loki had been worthy, or at least when he was younger...did Thor know about this?

No, the memories soon confirmed. No one knew. Loki had never tried again, either.

Loki did not tell his father that he was the first to lift the weapon, and should wield its power as such. He stood back and let Thor take the spotlight when he became worthy. It was as though this Loki was completely foreign, he was so radically different from what Tony had initially thought. This was no villain. No, this was the god he had fallen in love with despite his best efforts to keep his emotional distance. This was the being worth fighting the Avengers over, the innocent, worthy Loki. He had been wondering why he was defending the god, why he was placing such trust in him, but now he realized that it wasn't strange at all. The younger Loki and the Loki that had won his heart were completely different than the Loki that tried to take over his planet, it seemed. The memories continued, flashing through his head without pause:

Loki studying with an famed sorceress from Vanaheim named Amora, who taught him all she knew.

Loki spending many happy hours together with this so-called Enchantress. She was older than him, but not by much. He watched as the two magical peers grew up together, becoming closer and closer. All the while, she trained him in magic until he was more powerful than her.

Loki falling in love. 

The memories switched from happy, romantic ones in a flash, however.

Loki being blamed for Sif cutting off her own hair, and then making a sly deal with some dwarves, because Odin would not allow him to use the Asgardian treasury to pay for the new magical gold hair they were forging.

The golden locks going dark when Sif placed them on her head, and the dwarves laughing. Then, they somehow weaseled Loki’s punishment into the equation because Loki had tricked _them._ And worse? Odin let them.

Loki...oh God, he couldn’t watch.

Thor was holding down a screaming and crying teenage Loki, as the dwarves punched a huge leather awl through his lips, threading rough string through the bleeding punctures, and gradually sewing Loki’s mouth shut. Then, they beat and kicked him until he was bruised and bleeding.

Loki, being paraded around Asgard in chains by the dwarves, in agonizing pain and utter humiliation for his efforts to amend for a ‘crime’ he never committed in the first place

Loki, curled in a ball on his bed, tears streaming from his eyes, his mouth still completely sewn shut, a week later.

Loki, not getting up to open the door despite Thor’s insistent banging.

A crying Frigga, gently removing the stitches two weeks later when the dwarves finally left.

Loki solving Asgard’s problems again and again, without any thanks but that of his mother and the guardian of the Bifrost, Heimdall.

Loki...as a horse?! He was trying to lure a large horse away so that the construction of a wall couldn’t be finished and they would not have to pay an impossible fee, once again saving Asgard’s ass. Tony felt Loki’s panic, both in the memory and in current time.

The memory paused for a second, but did not fade, and Tony felt Loki’s hand clench his in the real world.

 _Loki, what is it?_ he thought, somehow knowing that Loki could hear him.

 _I desperately want to show you, yet I am still scared,_ Loki’s thoughts came to him.

 _You can show me anything. I will never judge you, Lokes,_ Tony thought back.

 _I...I trust you, Anthony,_ Loki thought, though his hand did not lessen its crushing grip.

The memory stopped flickering under the strain of Loki’s magic and resumed.

Loki the horse was running, huffing for air. He finally wore out, trotting to a halt in the brush, and Tony realized why he had been running so hard.

A huge black stallion caught up with him, eyes wild.

Loki-horse looked as terrified as a horse could get. He flickered with green sparks, shimmering between the vague outline of Loki and mare several times before the sparks died.

Loki-horse stumbled, trying to run, but the huge stallion reared up, tossing his mane, and came down hard on Loki-horse’s back, effectively pinning him down.

Tony couldn’t shut his eyes, couldn’t turn away from the vision in his mind, while the horse brutally raped his soul-mate.

Loki, back in his godly form, lying naked and bruised on the forest floor and crying. He was only a teenager, probably the equivalent of about fourteen or fifteen. Good God.

Loki, as a female horse again...holy shit! Giving birth! To an eight-legged grey and black colt!

Loki, naming the colt Sleipnir and giving it to Odin as a gift...before he realized that the horse was a sentient being, of course.

Sleipnir, growing to be the fastest horse in the nine realms, capable of running through the sky.

Loki, finding out Amora was a Jotunn, rather than a Vanir sorceress, whose full name was Amora Sigyn Angrboda. Loki meeting her family, and becoming acquainted with those living in the Argr Sanctuary in the Wastelands of Jotunnheim that Amora called home.

Loki, loving Amora secretly.

Amora getting pregnant four times, and giving birth to a wolf, a snake, identical twins, and a girl whose body was half skeleton and dead flesh, the reincarnation of the ancient goddess Hel.

Loki named her Hela.

He named the wolf, and the snake, and the twins, and loved them all with a love unparalleled by anything Tony had ever seen before.

Loki finding out that he too was a Jotunn, disguised with his own magic as a babe to appeal to Odin.

Loki helping the Argr Jotunns through many hardships, including moving the entire Sanctuary to a different location further in the Wastelands of Jotunnheim in the middle of a ice gale. There were literally huge shards of ice whipping through the air in hurricane-strength winds, and the temperature was under –300°F...cold for even Jotunns. Loki forged through the terrifying blizzard with Sleipnir and Fenris at his side, trying to keep a magic shield up in front of the group of around four hundred Seiðrs to protect them from the ice. They had to travel in such horrific conditions because Laufey’s soldiers had found their first Sanctuary, and if Laufey tracked where they went, they would all be found and slaughtered. After this, Loki moved his family to Asgard. Later, he moved them to Midgard, and then back to Jotunnheim again for a while, and then back to Midgard very recently.

But his life was, in general, happy...and then tragedy struck.

Loki killing his biological father Laufey, a monster who was actually oppressing the good Jotunns, the magic users, by luring him to Asgard alone.

Loki directing the Bifrost on the Jotunn court to try to destroy their entire ‘city’ of corruption and free the last Jotunn seiðrs living in hiding.

Thor, destroying the Bifrost, and a shard of magical glass flying through the air and hitting a woman that only Loki could see.

It impaled her.

Amora’s mouth opened in quiet agony, and Loki clung to the end of his Father’s staff, looking up at her in shock and pain.

And then she toppled off the Bifrost.

So Loki let go.

But she had already died in midair, her body dissolving into glowing dust, and Tony knew, because Loki knew, that her soul was trapped in the magic-infused shard of Bifrost that had stabbed straight through her heart.

Loki screaming in anguish, his breath torn away by the void. He fell into empty space, clutching the shard to his chest. Days passed like this, Loki still alive, yet not breathing, frozen solid but not dying due to his Jotunn nature, tumbling through the infinite nothingness.

When he finally was retrieved by the Mad Titan, his mind was already broken. It was oh-so-easy for Thanos to use his pain and turn it on the world, on Thor, on everyone. Well...as easy as it was to break someone like Loki.

Holy shit...the things those monstrous creatures were doing to him.

He knew that if he ever had a nightmare again, now that Loki was somehow magicking them away, the scenes he was seeing now would be joining Afghanistan as the top nightly terrors.

And that’s when Tony realized that Loki had lied to him.

He had never wanted a throne. He wanted revenge, a warped wrath founded in the twisted web of lies the Other ground into his brain while he tortured the god on Thanos’s orders.

It was Tony’s worst memories of Afghanistan, multiplied by ten.

He watched in horror, as the shard of Bifrost holding his wife’s soul was shattered into thousands of pieces in front of him. Loki knew there was no getting her back now, not even with Hela as his daughter. There was not even a chance of seeing her in the afterlife. Hel could not revive a soul that no longer...existed.

A flash of a leering and hideous alien face beneath a hood, not too different from a Chitauri, as Loki fell to his knees and howled, “So this is what an all-powerful Asgardian looks like when he has fallen from his little throne. Pathetic. I will truly enjoy breaking you, Odinson.” His voice was grating and horrifying, like a thousand rasping knives.

“You are mistaken,” Loki spat, with no light left in his eyes already, “I am no son of Odin.”

“Oh, we know. A shame, isn’t it, spawn of Laufey? They won’t look for you then, will they? You already know no one is coming for you, I can see it in your weeping eyes. How...pitiful,” the true monster spat.

Loki shut said eyes, bowing his head in resignation, _‘No,’_ he thought to himself, _‘They shall not look for me. Not after what I did to them...and it is exactly what I wanted. What I asked for.’_

He watched as Loki screamed in pain from whips, blades, white hot branding, lashing from chains, being beaten half to death with clubs, random metal objects and even flayed. Stripped of skin to the point where he was unrecognizable as a living creature anymore.

Only for his magic to heal him in time for another round of tortures. His soul-mate, being deprived of food, water, and sleep for months at a time. Being deprived of sanity.

Loki had nightmares, far worse than his own.

The last thing he saw was an insane Loki trying to take over Earth and repeating things that Thanos had drilled into his tormented mind.

And it finally clicked. He finally understood what was so radically different about the Loki he had grown to love. His eyes were emerald green, not mind-gem blue. They _had_ been blue during the invasion after all. He didn’t have a faulty memory.

Loki had been mind controlled, and he had lied...lied because of his pride and shame. He didn’t believe anyone would ever sympathize with him, a monster completely deserving of his torments.

“You’re innocent,” Tony whispered, jolting out of the chain of memories and looking into Loki’s sad, sad, eyes, “And you had a wife, and a family.”

“I still have a family, Anthony,” Loki’s voice was no more than a broken whisper, “I am scared to visit them, scared that I have become the barbarian that my true father was in their eyes. I tried to lie to myself that I was not Him, but I see that it was just that...lies. I let their mother die, along with her family, which I left to be killed by the very savage to which I try to deny any connections. Her blood is on my hands, for my lies and deception to those who I...those who gave me a chance as a babe. And yet, every step of the way I have betrayed them. My second father could never love me because he saw the truth of my state. I am such a fool, to think that this could…now you know. I deceived myself, and you,” Loki ramped up as he spoke, and by the end of his speech, he was nearly spitting out his words.

Tony was taken aback by the sudden tirade. Then his brain had a strange thought...that even like this, angry, sad, and in pain, Loki was beautiful. He just wanted to cradle that gorgeous pained face in his hands, and hold him still, and shut him up with a kiss. He had no idea how that would be received, though, if he could fix the situation by sheer force of will. He didn’t say or do anything, simply staring in horror and listening, though he didn’t really want to. He probably couldn’t have found the right words yet if he had tried, anyways, and Loki seemed determined to continue his rant of self-deprecation.

“I would have risked harming my brother in a ridiculous attempt at exercising nonexistent ideals and self-sacrifice. I told myself that I was doing it for him, that I would do this one last good thing despite it destroying our relationship, because it wouldn’t matter in the end. I was planning on leaving, anyways...I never belonged on Asgard. He would have his hammer, and I could leave Asgard behind and start a new life with Amora on the soon-to-be-liberated Jotunnheim. But what if he had not become worthy? His death would be on my hands as well. I tried to make myself like them, the Asgardians, or at least the Argr Jotunns. They are claimed to be the more savage of our race, but I know that not to be true. It is the opposite, in fact. I tried to pretend that I too have a heart, but it is also not true...I am the savage. I am not an Argr Jotunn or Argr kin. I am the unwanted son of the king of beasts. And now the destruction of your home and the harm I caused both you, your people, and my family is all on my hands. I nearly killed my own sons and daughter in the invasion. All of them were residing in a building completely destroyed by the Leviathans. And I have led you into a relationship...led you to bind your soul to me, when...Oh, what have I done?” Loki took a shaky, heartbroken breath, having worked himself into a complete and total whirlwind of self-hatred and fear, “Why? Now that you know my story, why are you not running? I am a monster.”

“You are _not_ a _monster._ So don’t you _dare_ call yourself one” Tony spat, finally finding his voice, and then he softened his tone, realizing that tears were running down Loki’s face now, “The mere fact that you’re saying all this proves that you have a conscience and a heart, Bambi. And rather large ones if I do say so myself. And run from you? You’re my soul mate. Don’t tell me you’re already backing out of this. You better not do that to me,” Tony was near pleading now at the distress and confusion painted over Loki’s beautiful, emotion-filled face, “You mean the _world_ to me, Lokes, don’t you get that, you stupid genius? I chose to spend _eternity_ with you, and I don’t regret it.”

Loki sobbed, but he was smiling now, a look of pure, innocent, hope and disbelief, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Tony took a deep breath, “Loki, I love you. I think the first time I said it wasn’t exactly in an ideal situation, so I’ll say it again. I. Love. You. And you’re mine. Mistakes, failures, and all. You’re the property of Tony Stark, signed and sealed…and the owner of my heart.”

Loki buried his face in Tony’s shoulder, his tears soaking into the fabric of Tony’s t-shirt, and Tony sighed as he felt the tenseness ebb out of the god and he gradually calmed down. Tony noted that something felt a little off when he wrapped his arms around his soul mate, but he didn’t question it, his brain still all worked up. The god’s erratic breathing steadied after a while, heaving chest falling still in his embrace, and he muttered an muffled apology.

“No need, baby. It’s okay,”

“I am so sorry, I want you. I wouldn’t abandon you, I swear,” Loki said tearfully.

“Hey, don’t get worked up about that now too. It’s okay, baby. You’ve got me,” Tony soothed, just holding his fragile lover that had been through so much more than he had ever realized.

“You should go see your kids soon,” Tony murmured into his hair

He wrapped his arms around Loki tighter and Loki shifted his grip...and Tony gasped when he finally realized that something really was off.

He was feeling both sensations from his own hands on Loki’s back, but at the same time he was feeling hands on his own back as well, fainter and less certain. But Loki’s real hands were most certainly not on his lower back...he could feel a second set on his upper back. Loki inhaled in surprise as well and pulled back.

“Whoa,” Tony whispered, tentatively poking Loki in the stomach. He felt a light poke on his own stomach, “No way this is happening.”

The scientific tests he could run with this…

He wished he had a doctor like Bruce with him, because he was more adept at the mechanical than the human. But still…

Loki huffed in astonishment, “I just heard...” He trailed off, a half-smile on his face.

“What?” Tony asked.

 _I think...I think we might be able to communicate telepathically now,_ came Loki’s voice in his head. It took him a minute to convince himself that Loki hadn’t actually spoken the words aloud.

Tony could help but let his jaw drop at that.

Alrighty then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could you tell that the Amora picture was heavily edited? I changed her hair color and face quite a bit. I am very proud of myself considering I did it in paint 3d. Haha, this girl's too poor to get photoshop. Actually, more like too busy to learn how to use it. ;)  
> Here's the original photo!  
> https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/d/d6/TheEnchantress.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/360/height/450?cb=20181226190348


	15. Disproving the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki is definitely a super genius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you to all my readers, and please keep commenting! Your sweet reviews always put a smile on my face! Sorry this short chapter took so long to be posted. The last few days have been quite hectic with the craziness of COVID-19 and I hadn't gotten a chance to do my last minute read-through before I posted. Anyways, here it is, and hope you like it! :)

It was Loki, not him, who began rummaging around in drawers and pulling out notepads, pencils, and calculators, the stress and emotional confusion fading away now as the gears in his beautiful mind started turning.

“Why are you grabbing pencils and stuff?” Tony asked. He was used to Loki doing his thinking in the air in glowing writing. Tony would have thought he was projecting a holograph, if he didn’t know it was Loki’s thoughts that he was writing down with his seiðr.

Loki shrugged, “I do not want to risk interfering with my magic by using it while I am trying to study it, so I suppose I will have to do this the mortal way.”

“Hell, Lokes, I don’t use notebooks and pencils half the time either. I have holo-tables with 3D displays...much better for showing your magic, right?

“Ah, right. The lab, then?”

“Lead the way,” Tony grinned, and once they were in the lab, he settled for resting his head on Loki’s shoulder while he worked.

Tony was quickly intrigued, however, and sat up, intently watching him crank out numbers and freaky stuff that looked like a mixture of calculus, quantum physics, and ancient symbols, with some abstract doodles and complex 3D projections hovering among his work. He understood maybe ten percent of the stuff on the holo-table, at best. Probably more like five. This coming from a guy that thought quantum physics made perfect sense and good conversation. He was pretty sure that this over there was a diagram of the quantum mechanical model for electrons...but then Loki had erased part of it, drawn a geometric pattern of lines all over it, and then zoomed in quickly, placing dots and then highlighting three of them, placing arrows, and then speedily plotting out a spin orbital diagram of sorts with specific places and paths of the dots rather than just general areas...as if you could actually do that. All the while, he was writing out a series of Nordic runes and coordinates, and strange figures. It looked almost like he was pinpointing where the electrons were at a certain point in time and how fast and in what direction they were going as well...which was definitely impossible by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Even Tony Stark knew that was impossible. But then again, he never would have thought that magic could be a thing either. Even Ant-Man quantum nonsense made more sense than this, and he understood the concept of what they were doing there...if only he could get his hands on one of Pym’s suits so he knew how they were doing it. The shrinking all sounded okay in theory, but there was something he was missing that made it all go to hell really quick.

Like, if you messed up one rotational calculation by a billionth of a nanometer, you would instantly be miniaturized and liquefied into a puddle of carbon goop and other various chemicals kind of issue. And yes, he had checked back through everything at least twenty times. It just didn’t...work.

Give him time, though. It was like he was missing a sort of particle that helped fuel the transaction of matter. Something he needed to fuel that suit.

But what was powerful enough to shrink a person and then not fry them when they tried to change back? It would have to be a atom-sized energy source with just the right wavelength, a particle crazy enough to be an energy source almost as potent as his arc reactor. Incredibly radioactive matter lower on the periodic table seemed like the only possibility, and the container to hold it would have to be some container indeed. And what practical use would an atom of UnUnSeptium have, only existing for a trillionth of a second?

Maybe…an atom wasn’t small enough? Was that it?

Maybe it needed to be subatomic!

His brain racing, he turned back to what Loki was doing. Loki might actually know already. Heck, he might be able to tell Tony exactly how the Ant-man worked, just from hearing about the suit. He seemed to be on the next level from Tony, in all honesty. Oh yeah, this was definitely getting brought up later.

Hank Pym hated him, he knew, but if he finally figured it out, he was so contacting the old dude. Hah!

He examined the diagram now spinning in front of his face and asked, “Are those electrons?”

“Hmm?” Loki asked, “Perhaps. I call them negative orbs.”

“Sounds about right. So Asgard does quantum physics, or what?”

“Not exactly. None but me know of these orbs. I have written all the texts in the royal library regarding such vessels, and the various elements”

“Whoa, do they know about your work?” Tony asked, astounded. He hadn’t seen this part in the memories, so apparently they hadn’t covered _everything._ Tony was actually kind of glad, because he kind of wanted to be able to talk to Loki about things and find them out himself rather than just having everything spewed at him at once.

“No. Thor still thinks that lightning is an element. I believe an ancient Alfen queen theorized about particles, and I obtained texts on real elements from her, but she could never truly explain why the elements behaved the way that they did. She spent her life classifying them and recording their properties. I discovered several that she had not found as well.”

“You wrote original texts about electrons though? Without any prior knowledge?”

“Negative orbs? Yes, I discovered them early on in my studies, they seem to approach the membrane of Ginnungagap. Well, as much as you could say that something so large in relativity approaches the membrane. I discovered the core of the particle containing positive orbs as well. These have aided me greatly in my understanding of what makes the elements unique, as they seem to have different numbers for each type.”

Tony didn’t understand the first part, at least. Membrane of Ginnungagap? He had no idea what that was referring to, but, “The particle being an atom, so...the nucleus, and protons inside of it?”

Loki smiled, “Whatever you wish to call them.”

“I call them by what they were originally named,” Tony snorted, “You know, if you would have come down to Earth, you would have seen that we discovered those things a long time ago. So you wouldn’t have had to discover them yourself, and all. Not that I'm not impressed.”

Loki raised an eyebrow, green eyes glittering, “And when exactly did you come up with these complex concepts?”

“Uh, I think it all started around the 1700s with a guy named Dalton…well, someone in the late B.C.’s theorized about atoms, but he never proved anything. I’m not really a quantum physicist in practice, so I don’t remember all the history behind it, but I can understand it well enough.”

Loki quirked a cocky half-smile, “I discovered the negative and positive orbs and how to locate and track their destined paths around 400 AD. As I am doing now, to begin my study. I believe your planet is a little behind.”

“Ugh, I keep forgetting how dang prehistoric you are,” Tony groaned. 400 freaking A.D. The hell. “And you what? You mean you determined how to locate the electrons and plot where they’re going at the same time?”

“Yes, indeed. It is quite simple, actually.”

“No kidding? They say it’s impossible. What are you doing differently?”

“I’m calculating the over-spin due to the influence of seiðr and doing mathematical calculations from there. It used to take me an age to plot their pathways. I was using quills, of course. But once Asgard obtained holo-technology…”

“Asgard has holo-tech too? Heck, for how long?”

“Since I salvaged it from the Kree Invasion of 1538 A.D,” Loki grinned, still sorting through numbers and calculations while he talked, “That was one day that Asgard could not regard me as worthless. We also gained space vessels that year, though the ones we captured and began producing were just little gliding rafts of sorts. Nothing space-worthy. No matter, though. We had no need for that, anyway. We still do not, given the Bifrost and the many secrets paths between the Nine Realms. Although, considering that the Bifrost is having to be repaired now since my darling brother broke it, I suppose that space vessels would be of great use to Asgard as of current.”

He turned to Tony with a grin, swiping his work away as he did so with a triumphant flourish, “The shared feeling should last only a week or so, based on the current magical pulses that seem to be facilitating the exchange between our sensory reception systems. If my quick calculations are correct. However, I believe we will permanently retain the ability to communicate through thought,” Loki said. It had been just twenty eight minutes.

“How you know these things, I will never figure out, but I believe you. This,” Tony said, “is totally sick.”

Loki frowned, “How...is that a mortal phrase?”

Tony laughed, “Sick means awesome in that context.”

“I see.”

“ I picked it up from Clint...he says it a lot.” Tony said, looking down, “You know, I feel kind of bad about you altering the guy’s memories. He was already traumatized by the mind control.”

“I know. He was strong, fighting it almost as much as I did. And Selvig as well, building that safety into the portal device”

“So Hulk bashing your head on the floor freed you from the control?”

“I am inclined to believe that is the case,” Loki nodded.

“Should we ever tell them?”

“Probably not,” Loki said aloud, but then in his thoughts he heard a faint _Maybe._

 _Give it time, and we’ll see,_ Tony thought back, embracing the god. He smiled, and kissing Loki, nipped his bottom lip gently. That in itself was incredible, he felt everything that Loki felt, felt like he was one with the god, the perfect fit.

“Given our doubled senses, I have a feeling we shall be much faster tonight,” Loki chuckled.

“That sentence just got me turned on, though I’m sure you’ve already felt that.”

“Oh, believe me, I did,” Loki smirked, massaging him through his pants, “Do you wish to take me again, love?”

“Hell yes.”


	16. The Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, so sorry for this chapter taking several days to get to you guys. I am realizing that a lot of work needs to be done on my partner fic for Steve/Bucky if I am going to continue Bound Souls from where I left off in my personal documents. Otherwise, things will get rather confusing and they won't correspond. Note that updates will continue on at a decent pace for a while, but I can't make any guarantees for later chapters. 
> 
> Also check out the Avengers Tower floor list I just made, if you're interested where stuff in the tower is located.  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/23268712

_—==Tuesday, June 12th==—_

Two perfect weeks later, the shared feeling finally wore off, just like Loki said, and they could still project thoughts to each other whenever they wanted. They also figured out that they could send mental images if they shut their eyes and even see from each others eyes or view each other’s recent memories.

Shortly after, he came upon an odd scene when he entered the penthouse one morning to get coffee and breakfast. The demigod always woke before him, and now that Jarvis had instructed Loki on how to operate the devices in the kitchen, he had taken to making breakfast for him. Yet another bonus of being with his gorgeous god...who knew that he was such a foodie? Tony wouldn’t have believed it unless he had seen it with his own eyes: Loki lounged on his couch watching Food Network and memorizing dozens of healthy and tasty recipes that Tony couldn’t have put together to save his life. For never having seen a chicken before, Loki made one mean omelet.

Today, however, there was no scent of sizzling bacon or hot biscuits, or fruit or anything. At first, Tony glanced over to the table to see if Loki had just decided on plain old oats and strawberries, since he had taken a liking to the combo, but his eyes instead landed on the god standing stock-still in front of the window.

“Hey, Babe. Whatcha looking at?” Tony called out, approaching him tentatively.

No response. After a long pause, Loki turned around and glanced at him.

He had a shameful expression, and he wouldn’t look Tony in the eye.

What?

“What’s up babe?” Tony stuttered, feeling worry seize his heart. Had they been discovered? He had set up alert systems with Jarvis now, and his AI was now allowed to override mute if their secrecy was in danger. No, surely not. Then what was it?

“I...I…” Loki stuttered, “I suppose... I just…”

“What’s wrong?”

Loki sighed, looking out the window again with an stony expression, “I would have told you sooner, but I was...scared. I did not think you were ready for it.”

“Ready for what?”

“I have never been with a man before you, Tony,” Loki stated, his mournful tone making this admission sound quite tragic.

Well then.

“Huh, you’re so good, I figured you’d done it before,” Tony chuckled, letting himself relax a little, “Don’t worry, babe, I couldn’t tell.”

Loki laughed softly at that, and Tony continued, “That’s news and half, though, Lokes. I mean honestly, how the fuck did you know how to give such a fucking amazing blowjob?”

“I let my sense contact magic guide me, and did whatever made you feel the best,” Loki blushed, “I will teach you how to flow with your magic someday, but that is not the point. Focus, please.”

“I’m all ears,” Tony said. So there was more?

Loki studied his eyes, and then the floor, apparently doubting himself now that he had Tony’s attention, “I knew not that it was even possible, or I would never have…’twas an accident, I swear to you...It is just...I mean...”

“What?” Tony pleaded, “Baby, just tell me.”

“Anthony,” Loki whispered, looking up at him with what was almost fear in his emerald eyes,

“I am with child.”

...

Oh.

OH.

Of all the things he was expecting Loki to say, that was not one of them. His jaw dropped nearly to the floor, or so he pictured it in his head.

“I gave...I made you...HOLY SHIT!” he near-screeched.

Loki took a shaky breath, looking like he could barely stand to look into his eyes, “I know, Tony, I cannot change what is already done.”

“Holy…I mean...God. How? You’re pregnant?! With my kid?!” Tony felt faint and giddy. How the hell was this even possible? Biology, where was biology?

Loki was an alien, of course…yeah…sure.

Loki looked at the ground, “I am so sorry. I know you are not the kind of man who wishes to raise a child. We…if you wish we can...rid ourselves of it. It is still early.” He looked heartbroken at the thought.

“You’re sorry?!” Tony yelped, grimacing a bit at the horrific idea, “Sorry?”

“I never meant…I hope that you can forgive me,” Loki turned away, tears in his eyes. Tony’s own eyes stung, but he wasn’t upset.

“Forgive you for what? I’m going to be a dad!” he cried happily, “Take that, Clint!”

He embraced a startled Loki, pressing a drawn-out kiss to his lips, Loki’s familiar minty taste on his tongue. Loki sighed into the kiss, eyes fluttering shut and a smile tugging on his cheeks. Tony pulled away reluctantly and poked his belly, “You don’t feel pregnant! Where will it come out?!”

“I have discovered that I am rare even among Jotunns. My breed of Jotunn has…has the capability to both impregnate...and to be impregnated through the backside,” Loki murmured.

“So you have ass-babies? Cool.”

“Same opening, different tunnels,” Loki rolled his eyes, “You see, my anatomy remains the same in my disguise, despite my outward appearance.”

“So you’re like some of the weird but fascinating animals that do all three things with the same hole, and have ass-babies, right?”

“I still have the essential male parts, Tony,” Loki sighed, looking down again, and Tony realized, with considerable regret, that he was tromping along very thin ice, “How are you not repulsed by this? I surely must disturb you...please do not lie.”

“It’s slightly strange and different, sure, but it’s still totally awesome! I’m going to have a kid! How and when did you find out?” Tony said, hating himself for comparing Loki to an animal. Curse his five-year-old brain.

“A week ago,” Loki whispered, smiling broadly, “I thought you would be angered with me.”

“Loki, we’re soul-mates. I think you could do anything short of killing people or invading planets and I’d be perfectly fine with it. You really thought I would be mad at you for getting pregnant with my kid?” Tony rolled his eyes, kissing Loki again, “How do you know though?”

“I can feel her magic within me,” Loki explained, “She will be powerful.”

“She?” Tony asked, “You already know it’s a female? Geez, there goes the surprise.”

“Her magic has distinctly female qualities,” Loki’s lip quirked up.

Tony was nearly bursting with questions. Finally, he couldn’t hold back the tidal wave, letting his thoughts spill over to Loki’s mind.

_How long will it be until she’s born?_

_We’ll need to update the tower, make it baby proof. See, that phrase makes no sense to me...it sounds like I’m trying to save the tower from the destructive powers of the baby. I don’t have that much breakable stuff...just lots of stuff we wouldn’t want her messing with. Metal sculptures that could fall over if bumped, breakable glass tables. Would those be a problem? Uh...make the baby tower-proof? No, because I’m not buffing up the baby I’m trying to make sure she’s safe to roam in the tower...lots of pointy objects...pretty sure we don’t want her eating those screws from where I was building that funky spinning thing in the Avengers Lounge...remember when I was talking to Clint and he was telling me a story about growing up in the circus, and I was bored to death ‘cause you’d already told me that story cause he told you when he was under mind control? I never did finish that thing. Oh, and that wicked little cactus is still in some forgotten corner of my penthouse, you know…wouldn’t want her in that. Hell...I stepped on it once in the middle of the night, and I’m pretty sure the barbs hurt me more than I hurt it. I should have thrown it out the window then. The pedestrians might have wanted to kill me, but it would have been worth it. Baby-protect the tower...Nope. I am becoming less and less coherent...How the hell do you say it? I give up._

_Is she going to be human or Jotunn, or a mix, or something else entirely? It would be cool if she was blue. If S.H.I.E.L.D. cuts us a break, I would totally love walking down the street with a blue kid. Oh yeah, the media would have a bawl with that one. Heck, she’d probably become an instant social media star, and not just ‘cause she’s Tony Stark’s kid. People like different here, you know. Not everyone, of course, but most people are pretty accepting now. Heck, I need to show you Avatar some time! That movie broke all kinds of records, so that gives you an idea of what people think about blue people here..._

_There’s no way we can have a baby in the tower without telling the others!_

_Oh gods, I’m going to die, not being able to brag to Clint about this...He’s always told me I’ll never settle down and have kids...hah!_

_Huh...will your kids be okay with this? Do they even know about me? Oh, right, Hela knows, of course. Yikes...is she okay with this?_

_Speaking of which, have you contacted your kids yet? You really need to...I’m sure they miss you!_

_I have no idea how to be a dad. Oh man…_

_We’re going to have to get bottled breast milk aren’t we?_

_Who the hell is going to be the doctor?_

_What will we name her? I have no idea what I would pick...Pepper...nah, that would just be rude to you. You know I don’t like her that way, right? It wasn’t ever really a thing. I mean I’m not even sure if we could have made it work. Still, though. She’s been a really great friend...put up with me all these years. I don’t really know any other girl names…How about you choose? Course then I might not be able to pronounce it…. So what’s it going to be, or are we going to decide at birth?_

He couldn’t help one of the thoughts slipping through, immediately regretting it,

_Please tell me she’s not an, uh, you know, animal._

Loki stared for a minute under the barrage, before he burst out laughing, and Tony sighed in relief.

“Tony!” Loki chided gently, “Too many thoughts! No, she is not an animal, that was Amora’s issue, not mine. She had less control over her shape-shifting. I believe her periodic lapses in control of her form due to her fluctuating magic were the cause of that issue.”

Tony winced, “Sorry about that one.”

“It does not bother me, Anthony,” Loki reassured him, “I know not what race she is, and I assume she will be born within seven to eight months, given I am less than one week in and Jotunns give birth in around eight months as opposed to æsir ten, and human nine.”

Tony nodded absentmindedly, “What about a doctor, who will help you give birth?”

“ I cannot give birth, actually. You see, I knew not that I was an Argr, which is why I never predicted this, but…”

“You hung out with Argrs.”

“Yes, and I know about their anatomy and history. While my breed of Jotunn evolved to be able to produce children amongst themselves, as there was a serious lack of females due to Laufey’s Regime, and we evolved a womb of sorts, and a tiny tube to be able to become impregnated, we did not evolve enough to be able to ‘give birth.’ The tube leading from my ‘womb’ to my...I believe the anatomically correct term is rectum ...is only a few centimeters in diameter, and absolutely not elastic.”

“Oh, so you’re going to need a cesarean section. At least she won’t entirely be an ass-baby.”

“Oh for the love of the Norns, will you stop saying that?” Loki complained.

“Nope,” Tony winked, “I will forever tell the story of how I gave you an ass-baby.”

Loki groaned, “You’re very much immature, do you know that?”

“Absolutely,” Tony agreed.

“And who would you even tell it to?” Loki pointed out.

Tony frowned, “Crap, that was a roast, wasn’t it?”

“Possibly,” Loki smirked, “If a roast is the same thing as the ‘burn’ you described to me.”

“I could always tell it to you,” Tony suggested, “Remind you how I fucked you up. You were worn out when I was through with you.”

Loki growled playfully, “Stop it!”

“La-la-la, can’t hear you. So, what about the tower, and the others? Won’t we have to tell them? And we’ll definitely need a doctor if you have to have a cesarean section.”

Loki sighed, “I’m not sure about what we will do for the child regarding the tower and your teammates. Also, it would help if I knew what a cesarean section is. I’m assuming…”

“It’s when they cut the baby out,” Tony said, sitting down on the couch.

“Ah, that’s what I figured. I wish it didn’t have to be that way, and I would try giving birth shape-shifted into a female, but I fear that because my ‘womb’ is different from that of the typical female, the shift in actual anatomy might kill her.”

“Yeah, then definitely cesarean.”

“As for a doctor, if he is not angered at me as I fear he might be, I think Fenris would be acceptable.”

“Fenris? But isn’t he just a teenager?” Tony frowned.

“He is more advanced in the art of healing than any of your professional doctors,” Loki shrugged, “I would trust him to save my life any day, and besides, while being the equivalent of a teen in mental and physical state, he has still been alive for over a thousand years.”

“I keep forgetting that you’re like, way older than me,” Tony snorted, “How old are you again?”

“Didn’t your mother tell you it’s not polite to ask a female their age?” Loki deadpanned, and Tony cracked up, “No, really.”

“I will be two thousand, six hundred as of next year.”

“So when is your birthday?”

“My what?” Loki asked.

“What day of the year were you born on? We celebrate that around here.”

“Tony, my magic tells me my age, but it is not that specific. Even Thor does not have a celebrated ‘birth-day,’ and his birth is on record.”

“You mean to tell me that you’ve never had a…Never?!”

“No. If we did celebrate such an occasion, I would have had…”

“Two thousand, five hundred and ninety nine birthdays. Right,” Tony said, “And this is an achievement worth celebrating. You’re at a 100 year milestone! We’re celebrating it!”

“Good luck finding enough candles for that,” Loki snorted.

“It’s called using four numeral candles, Sherlock. What, do you think I stick over forty candles in my cake every year? Not that I _have_ a cake usually.”

“Well, we must get you a cake then. I believe we already missed your birth-day this year, correct?

“Yeah, it was back on May 29th,” Tony said, “Now the real question is, when should we celebrate your birthday?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Pick a date, any date. Going once, going twice…and Loki’s birthday is…”

“Well, I can’t recall any other names of Midgardian months right now, so, ah…May 14th,” Loki blurted.

“Great, except that means we’ve missed your birthday for this year too,” Tony snorted, “You sure? You want some time to look up the other months?”

“No. It somehow feels right. And then our birth-days shall be near to one another”

“You know, Master Laufeyson, you could always pick the 28th of April…” Jarvis suggested with a playful lilt to his robotic voice.

“What is so special about the 28th of April?” Loki asked, wincing at the title.

“Why, International Super-Villain Day, of course,” Jarvis said coolly. Tony rolled his eyes, noting Loki’s pursed lips, “Oh thanks, J. Real nice. Do I need to mute you again?”

“Sorry Master Laufeyson, it was meant only as a joke, and I hope you took it that way. I seem to have gotten too used to protocol calling for me to be light-hearted, as it always amuses Sir.”

Loki furrowed his brow at this, and Tony honestly wasn’t sure whether Loki was really offended, or was just holding in laugher. Then the once-assumed criminal snorted, apparently deciding to take it in stride, “’Tis quite alright, Jarvis. And please, just call me Loki.”

He turned to Tony, then, “ Do you humans just pick random dates for these absurd holidays?”

“Pretty much.” Tony laughed, “So, what’s it going to be?”

“May 14th.”

“Hey, the birthstone for May is the emerald, so it suits you better than me. I look forward to it,” Tony said, “But before that, we’ll be celebrating the birth of our daughter.”

Loki’s gleeful expression could knock the stars out of alignment.

He kissed his god's cheek and wrapped his arm around his waist, leaning back against the couch with his eyes shut and a smile on his face.

He couldn’t believe it.

He had a daughter.


	17. This Was a Terrible Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You knew it was coming...the inevitable...LOKITTY! I just couldn't resist! Bwahahaha! ;3

_—==Thursday, June 14th==—_

Two days later, Loki approached him as he was getting ready for a mission debrief. Just yesterday, the team had been called by SHIELD to raid a base of an up-and-coming terrorist organization called A.I.M. They had apparently taken some inspiration from the Chitauri Invasion and had decided that they wanted to try out world domination for themselves...and they had even gotten a hold of some very dangerous alien tech from said Invasion. Good thing was, despite their name, their gunmen were about as accurate as Storm Troopers.

After that debacle, of course, Fury wanted to interrogate them for an hour the next day, and he had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn for the meeting again. After that, the director had an ‘announcement’ to make, that could range anywhere from a half hour to three. Joy.

One thing to be thankful for, though. This time around, Loki wasn’t looking ashamed or nervous. In fact, Tony could see a bit of a mischievous glimmer lighting up those beautiful green eyes.

“What’s up, babe?” Tony questioned.

“I have come to a conclusion,” Loki vaguely stated.

“And?”

“I miss you during all your meetings, and you’re going to be with the Avengers for hours today,” Loki shrugged, “I have thought of a way that I can come with you.”

“What, turning invisible? Because that’s not going to work, babe. You know how many times I get elbowed walking around that place? And Hell to the no, I’m not letting you walk around in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion, invisible or not!”

Loki chuckled, “I did not say a thing about invisibility, Anthony, do not assume.”

Tony sighed, “Then how else do you propose you come with me?”

“As a cat.”

Tony stared, “Um, what?”

“A cat. I will shape-shift into a cat, and come with you,” Loki said resolutely.

“I hate to break it to you, Lokes, but Fury isn’t going to let me bring a cat into a meeting.”

“What about the time you brought in that praying mantis you found on the side of the building?” Loki asked, “You got away with that didn’t you, and it was amusing!”

Tony snickered, “Okay, yeah, that _was_ funny. Fury was so mad, and even a few the supposedly ‘tough’ women were freaking out!”

“So, it is settled, then?”

“No, it’s not,” Tony glared, “A cat is different than a bug. And how do you explain why a guy like me got a pet cat in the first place?”

“You found me. Make something up, but I’m coming with you.”

“Fine…Actually no, not fine! What about the baby? I thought you said shape-shifting…”

“As long as I retain my Argr Jotunn anatomy for the most part, though diminished, the child will be fine so long as she is small. She does not take up the whole womb yet, yes? It is later on when it would become impossible to shape-shift into a creature.

“I kind of understand, but I kind of don’t. Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Loki beamed, “I turned back into an Asgardian form for a while when I was bearing Sleipnir, but of course I knew to retain the shrunken internal reproductive anatomy of a female horse at the time. I had to change back when he became too large to fit in a humanoid form. So, shall we?”

And so, he found himself bringing a pure black, green-eyed kitten to the Triskelion. A kitten with the internal reproductive anatomy of a Frost Giant, with his unformed kid somewhere in that mass of fuzz.

 _This is a terrible idea,_ he thought.

_I shall help you say intelligent things._

_I already say intelligent things!_

_No you do not, Anthony._

_Fuck you._

He glared at the adorable kitten in the passenger seat of the car. He slid into a parking spot, scooping up the ball of fluff that was his husband in one arm, and fumbling with his briefcase in the other. He got some weird looks walking through the halls of the Triskelion, but no-one objected to his cute companion.

 _Wait a second,_ he thought, _You need a name!_

_Make something up. I care not._

_I really am tempted to call you Lokitty, but that would be pushing it. Wouldn’t they remember then?_

_No. Go right ahead. I doubt that it would trigger the memories of Hawkeye and Black Widow,_ came Loki’s voice in his head, with something resembling a playful lilt.

 _I’ll just say that I saw a resemblance,_ Tony thought, laughing quietly to himself.

He stood outside the door to the room for a moment, bracing himself for the explosion that would surely happen when he walked into the meeting. Then he remembered that he was Tony Stark , and he didn’t care what they thought.

There wasn’t an explosion, just silent stares of disapproval as he walked in and casually took a seat beside Hawkeye.

“What’s up with the cat?” Clint snorted. He was the only one who was taking it as a joke. He rubbed Loki’s tiny head with two fingers, and Lokitty pawed at his hand, which of course did nothing to deter the archer.

_You found me outside._

_You don’t look like a stray,_ Tony argued.

_In a box, Tony._

_A box?_

_I saw it as an example picture in the English language book I was reading._

_Oh, right. Cat for adoption, please take. Got it._

“I uh, found it outside in a box. Weird right? I think I’m going to name it Lokitty.”

“Excuse me?” Steve cried.

“Well, black hair, green eyes, can’t you see the resemblance?” Tony shrugged, hoping he wasn’t as bad at lying as he thought, “Take a joke, children.”

“Loki’s eyes were blue,” Clint muttered, seeming unconvinced.

“Blue? Wait what?” Tony blurted. Crap, he had forgotten...time to backtrack, “I could have sworn they were green. Huh. I’m uh, wondering if I’m colorblind now.”

It sounded lame, even to him.

_Colorblind? Really?_

“More like you pay no attention to details,” Nat muttered, “Whatever, call it what you want. Let’s get to discussing why we’re here.”

“Why are we here?” Tony asked Fury, “There’s literally nothing going on right now on Earth other than A.I.M. so why did you call the Avengers for an in person meeting? Time is money, Eyepatch. And my time is very expensive.”

“Nothing, Stark?” Fury asked lowly, “It seems awfully coincidental that you would mention Loki, considering the news we’ve just gotten from Asga...”

 _Uh-oh,_ came Loki’s voice in his head. Lokitty hopped up onto the table, running over and jumping into Fury’s lap.

Fury paused, frowning, lifting the kitten off of him by the scruff of its neck. It mewled and squirmed.

“Stark I swear to God, get this cat out of here,” he said sharply, and then his expression surprisingly softened a bit as he looked at the mewling kitten in his hands.

“It’s just a baby! I’ll hold onto it from now on, okay?” Tony cried, reaching across the table. Fury shoved the cat in his direction, but Loki scampered around the table via the chairs, hopping onto Steve, and then Nat, and then Clint, before hopping back into his lap.

 _That was too close,_ Loki’s thoughts came to him.

Everyone Loki had touched shook their heads, blinking confusedly, and Tony swore that Lokitty was grinning at him.

 _Did you mind wipe them all?!_ Tony stared at the kitten and back up at the disorientated Avengers sitting beside him.

_Somewhat. I cast a contact spell that causes slight forgetfulness and confusion, a form of Ringulreið. I can teach you it someday soon…’tis a fairly simple one._

_That’s awesome. I need to use that to escape from boring press conferences._

_No, you do not, you work slacker._

_I am not a work slacker! I fill out paperwork all the time._

_You fill out paperwork for less than an hour a day._

_I exercise for more than two hours though!_

_That is not work._

_Yes, it is._

_You enjoy it though._

_I enjoy all my work._

_Then why are you complaining about it?_

_Correction, I enjoy all my work except paperwork and press conferences and board meetings._

_You are an idiot, Anthony._

_I know. And you love me for it._

“Stark!” Fury barked, and Tony’s head popped up from where he was having a staring contest with his kitten.

“What?” he huffed, “At least I’m not on my phone!”

“Do you even have any idea what we were talking about?” Steve groaned.

Tony smiled sheepishly, “Sorry?”

“Do you somehow not understand the gravity of the situation?!” Clint nearly yelled at him. Great, now even Clint was angry.

“Whoa, man, what situation?” Tony raised his hands in defense.

“He didn’t even hear what you said, Director,” Nat rolled her eyes in exasperation.

_Thanks for distracting me, fur-ball. Now I’ve missed something important._

_Strange, I heard him clear as daylight-crystal on Alfheim._

_Then tell me what he said, damn it!_

_Fury received a raven-letter from Asgard stating that they just discovered I have escaped from prison._

_Huh? How did they not already know?_

_The illusion I placed in the cell must have finally faded._

_That is crazy cool. How did you get out in the first place again?_

_Why, I teleported of course._

_You can do that?!_

_Yes, Anthony._

_Will I be able to teleport!?!_

_Maybe one day._

_YES!_

“STARK!” Fury yelled.

“What? Sorry, I just don’t think it’s an issue worth losing our heads over. Loki said, well when we uh, had that little conversation in my tower, he sort of told me something along the lines of, ‘No prison can contain me, not even the _terrifying_ dungeons of Asgard, I have ways of getting out of containment using my über-cool magic that you can’t stop, and I will be out of any prison within an hour, and you won’t even know that I’m gone’, bla-bla-bla,” Tony lied. Loki started guffawing in his head at the sassy British-like tone he attempted to do Loki’s voice in: he had ended up making Loki sound like a whiny teenage girl. Yeah, he was definitely a master of accents.

“And you didn’t mention this to us earlier?” Fury asked angrily, falling for it. Clint was snickering now too. Nat glared at him. Tony shrugged at Fury’s suspicious glare...course, he always had a suspicious glare going on, so that was nothing new, “I thought he was bragging, apparently not. If he got out, he probably got out ages ago, and left one of those duplicate Lokis in his place. He’s probably out there terrorizing some other planet by now.”

“That statement actually made some semblance of sense, T-bone, good job,” Clint chuckled, “Tony’s right though, Director. If Loki knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay far, far away from this planet.”

_An excellent save there. A most nimble extraction. Quite frankly, I am both impressed and amazed._

_Thanks, babe._ Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his snarky cat-husband. _Now let me pay attention, and let’s agree never to discuss this incident again._

“It’s possible. We need to stay on high alert though. Thor’s letter that he managed to send says he will be coming in four months when the Bifrost is repaired,” Fury said after a moment, “The device he used to transport the raven broke on the journey, as the letter said it would likely do.

Steve nodded, “So you’re telling us that at least for now, we’re on our own. No contact from the guys out there to warn us if Loki’s coming back, and no help?”

“That’s right,” Fury said in a dark tone.

 _Only four more months? ‘Tis far quicker than I expected,_ Loki thought to him, sarcastic ‘tone’ gone and the unmistakable emotion of worry accompanying his thoughts _And it could prove to be quite disastrous. Thor has an uncanny knack for sensing my magic! We shall be quickly caught if I do not continuously erase my magical traces and stay far removed from him at all times. Which will be incredibly difficult practice to maintain for an extended period of time. I will slip up eventually, and then..._

_Then we’ll just mind wipe him too._

_Along with his natural resilience to such magic, Asgardian armor has the magical property of increasing the time necessary to cast spells on the wearer. He would know what I was trying to do before I accomplished it._

_Crap, that’s not good at all. What’s our game plan, then?_

_I know not._


	18. Utterly Delicious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki wants a taste...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> XD I cannot even with the chapter title and summary. Reader be warned.
> 
> Also, I finally figured out how to do pictures! There is now some of my favorite fanart attached to the chapters "Teach Me" and "Bound Souls!" Finally!  
> Check out those and also the timeline I am starting for Loki's history in this work, after a comment from one of my readers about loving worldbuilding!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/23361628/chapters/55970971

_—==Friday, June 22nd==—_

Despite their worries about the future, they managed to spend the next week or so in bliss. Tony had never been happier in all his life. He knew he was just avoiding thinking about the impending hardships that would accompany Thor’s return to Earth, and their inevitable reveal to the team and S.H.I.E.L.D., but he couldn’t help but let himself relax and just enjoy the moments they spent together. Even when away from Loki, like now as he worked on a sports car in his garage, he knew the god was never far. All Tony had to do was reach out with his mind, and bam, Loki could hear him.

The mere idea was enough to settle Tony’s anxiety and give him a sense of security and protection that he had been lacking.

He hummed along with the cranked up AC/DC music blaring out of a mega stereo nearby, rolled underneath his newly purchased Lamborghini Aventador that he was building. Yes, building. It was actually a design meant to be produced in a later year, but Tony had really liked the style, and so he went ahead and bought the unfinished prototype blueprints. Sue him, it was only a few million. This fine beauty was definitely going to be the hottest car he’d ever laid eyes on, or would be as soon as he painted her chrome red and gold like his suit. He was still working on completing the basics of the car, with some Iron Man worthy upgrades, of course. That V8 engine needed some arc reactor tech hooked up to it, for sure. It also was lacking tires and doors still, but he had designed them already. Jarvis was currently working on fabricating them. Oh, and the driving mechanisms were still in the process of being installed. After he finished these basic parts and upgrades, though, the rest should be a piece of cake.

Currently, he was working on the underside, car on jacks and him lying flat on a mechanic creeper. He wiped machine grease and sweat off his face with a rag and began drilling another hole in the metal framework to attach the lower control arm for the last wheel.

Yeah. He could build cars.

**What Tony's Car will Look Like, Minus the Gold Accents**

_I hope your work on your modified sports-car is progressing smoothly?_ Loki’s voice spoke in his mind after a moment.

 _Yep,_ Tony thought back, shifting the creeper a bit further out so he could reach the next point where the control arm would be attached, _It’s going peachy. What are you doing up there?_

 _Up here?_ Loki’s voice came through with a hint of smugness, _Well, from this perspective, I am quite enjoying the view._

Tony rolled his eyes, realizing Loki’s meaning. _Why, did you decide to come down?_

“Well,” came Loki’s smooth voice, now audible, “One cannot miss a chance to see Tony Stark with his legs spread just so.”

Tony snorted, and rolled himself out from under the car. He stood up, taking off his safety goggles and running a dirty hand through his unruly hair. He was about to take a shower anyways, so whatever.

“You,” Tony commented, meeting Loki’s eyes, “Are insatiable. Do you know that?”

“Mmm, quite,” Loki smirked as he eyed Tony’s sweaty, grease-stained form up and down. Tony was wearing a tank top with a hole cut out of the chest for his arc reactor, which also showed off his muscular arms quite nicely. Loki was clearly appreciating it, at least.

Tony cleared his throat, “Uh, I’m absolutely disgusting right now, so if I could go take a…”

“No,” Loki said sharply, and then quirked his lip, “I shall have you like this.”

Tony raised an eyebrow, but didn’t argue. Loki drew near to him, expression softening and both their eyes already at half mast. Loki leaned down a bit so that their noses were nearly touching and his hands came to rest on Tony’s hips. Tony brought his own up to Loki’s chest, lightly grabbing the soft green fabric of his tunic.

For a moment, they just stayed like that, but then Tony stood on his tiptoes and tilted his head to place his lips on Loki’s.

That was all it took for Loki to be set into action. The kiss started off firm but gentle, but quickly escalated as the passion rose. He was soon near-violently invading Tony’s mouth with his silvertongue that really lived up to the name, pressing Tony back further and further until his shoulders hit the wall. It was exactly what he needed when Loki wrenched Tony’s hands off of his chest, and pinned his wrists on the wall above his head firmly with one hand, hinting at his superior strength. That sort of dominating force being present was enough to make Tony dizzy with desire.

“Do you want me against the wall?” Tony breathed, when Loki finally broke the kiss.

Loki shook his head, smirking in that way that Tony loved, the expression he took on when he knew he was being granted full power over Tony’s body, “No. I must admit that I have been dreaming of taking my pleasure from you over your workbench for many days now, still marked with the grime of your work and slick from prior exertion.”

His voice came out in the low thrumming timbre of pure sex that had Tony’s cock eagerly responding in his too-tight jeans.

Tony’s eyes flicked to said workbench, and the tools scattered on the short metal stand were suddenly levitated to another part of the room with a flick of Loki’s wrist. That out of the way, he turned back to Tony, eyes dark with hunger. They had figured out that one of Tony’s kinks was being manhandled and tossed about like he weighed nothing, and Loki put that into practice today as the powerful god grabbed the inventor by an arm and threw him down onto that workbench like he was a ragdoll. The muscular inventor lay there, slightly stunned and winded, and didn’t protest or struggle as Loki flipped him over so that he was on his stomach, bent over the small metal surface. He could reach the floor, but his weight was still mostly on the surface of the workbench.

He was quickly relieved of his pants, and Loki wasted no time in wrenching his legs wide and shackling his ankles to the legs of the table.

“Oh, yes, this is quite perfect,” Loki mused, tracing a cool hand teasingly over his hip and down his thigh, and then there was a familiar scraping sound as Loki pulled up his short stool to sit behind Tony. Tony wasn’t exactly sure why he would need that to fuck him over the bench, and he expressed that in his thoughts.

_Oh, I intend to have you. But perhaps in a different way than you are accustomed. I should like to try a little something which I discovered on your wonderful little Internet._

_Oh boy,_ Tony thought, but he wasn’t really concerned.

_You will be a good little Pet and stay still while I pleasure you, yes?_

_Yes Sir,_ Tony nodded as best he could, wondering what it was that Loki intended to do.

Loki began by trailing kisses up his calves and thighs, and even some on his ass cheeks Tony shivered against the cold metal, arousal half-hard and dangling just off the edge of the table. He felt Loki’s magic tingle up into his backside, cleaning him as usual. Then fingers were parting his cheeks, and he felt soft hair brushing his thighs and backside. Um...

A murmured, “You look utterly delicious, Pet” was his only warning, before Loki’s nose bumped his backside, and a warm, slippery something that was neither a finger nor a cock was touching his pucker. Tony jolted against the table, crying out in shock, and Loki’s amusement seeped through to his mind.

Oh God...this was what Loki was wanting to try?

“Loki?!” Tony questioned

_Do you have any objections?_

Tony had to think about that one, breathing heavily now, “I, uh…I don’t know.”

 _If it becomes too much for you, you need only say,_ Loki reassured him, and Tony willed himself to settle down as his mate began to slowly mouth and lick at his most intimate area.

Tony wasn’t sure whether to feel aroused or disgusted, twitching involuntarily as Loki’s tongue probed at his tight ring of muscle, gently caressing and testing the waters. It was slippery and strange, and Tony’s whole body was taut as a bowstring. A hard suck at his rim had Tony near begging, though.

 _How does it feel, my sweet?_ Loki questioned, before pressing the tip of his tongue ever-so-slightly _in_.

Tony let out a small noise of shock by way of answering, not sure what to think anymore. This was wrong, in so many ways, and yet it felt so good. He whimpered pathetically as Loki’s tongue swirled around in a circle, dipping in every once in a while and his untouched cock was very quickly embarrassingly hard and weeping. His brain was almost completely fried already, and Loki had barely even started.

“Please,” he grunted, and the filthy god made a smug, pleased sound as he continued to work Tony open with his tongue, sucking and nipping gently at his rim until Tony was half-mad with need, cursing and writhing on the unforgiving metal surface, “Oh fuck, Loki, please.”

When Loki’s teeth closed on his flesh, hard and without warning, and he followed that up by forcing his wet tongue in as far as it could go, Tony’s mind shut off, overwhelmed by the strange pleasure. He thrashed against his bondage, “Fuck!”

He scrunched his eyes shut, knuckles white on the edge of the table as Loki started fucking into him with his sweet, slick tongue, face buried in his backside and his saliva dripping down Tony’s legs. Tony could only imagine what he looked like...better yet, what the demigod currently eating his ass looked like right now.

Then Loki’s long, slicked-up fingers were joining his tongue, spreading him wider so his cool tongue could dive even deeper into his tight heat. Tony instinctively pressed back toward the feeling. He was close, very close, he could taste it on his tongue. His whole body was a live wire, an explosive about ready to blow. A few gentle caresses on his package were all it took for him to come, howling.

He came down off his high to find that Loki was stroking him through the aftershocks.

“How was that, Pet?” Loki’s smooth voice teased, “Not so bad, was it?”

Tony laughed awkwardly, huffing to catch his breath, “No, not bad. Fuck, that was...crazy.”

“I thought you might enjoy it,” Loki cooed.

“What about you?” Tony finally panted out, and Loki chuckled a bit, gently petting the underside of his now-soft cock dangling between his legs, “You know, I can use my magic to do many things to you, now that I need not worry about it binding to your core without your knowledge.”

Tony grinned, thrusting his already prepped ass back teasingly, or as much as he could, bent over his workbench with his ankles bound to the legs of the short table, “So I could go another round, like right now?”

Loki just laughed sadistically, and Tony felt himself immediately grow achingly hard again in Loki’s cupped hand with a tingling electric sensation that made him shiver, “Shall we see how much pleasure you can take in one evening, my sweet, eager Pet?”

Four times, they determined. That was the most Tony could do in a row, even with magic. The third time wasn’t exactly full strength, and by the fourth time, he orgasmed completely dry. He was about to pass out, and Loki finally determined that he had had his fill for the evening. He unhooked Tony’s ankles, slinging his slack form over his shoulder and carrying him up to his bed.

“How are you feeling, love?” Loki murmured as his green magic sparked over Tony’s hot skin and removed the oil and grime, and Tony grinned goofily up at him, “Never better.”

His ass was aching from the pounding he had just received and his rim was deliciously loose and throbbing from the harsh bites he had been given. He had slight bruises from where Loki had tossed him onto the metal bench and more bruises and bite marks from being fucked hard into said metal workbench. Everything ached, and yet, Tony couldn’t be happier.

“You know,” Loki whispered, breaking away from a soft passionate kiss while they cuddled beneath the sheets, “I figured out something yesterday, when you allowed me to examine your arc reactor. I had to run some tests to confirm it, but it is indeed true.”

“What about it?” Tony asked.

“’Tis your arc reactor, Anthony. That is the reason why you possess magic.”

Tony stared, eyes widening, “Whoa, really?”

Loki gave him a slight nod, “I could hardly believe it myself. What you have there in your chest is the most powerful tangible source of magical energy there is…we call it Seiðrein, for it is a most rare metal that attracts particles of seiðr from the atmosphere to itself. It can be found in nature, but in the most minute amounts, and it greatly boosts the power of magic users...along with serving as a potent source of regular energy. I actually have some in my collar...it glows green instead of blue like yours, for it reflects the color of your core magic.”

“No kidding?” Tony said. Loki had an arc reactor of sorts?

“But the amount that I have is nothing compared to the amount you have in that device. Over thousands of years of traversing the Nine Realms, I have found no more than perhaps 20 Midgardian ‘milligrams’ of the substance. And yet, here you are, my brilliant little mortal, and you...” Loki pressed his palm to Tony’s arc reactor and looked him in the eyes meaningfully, “You have synthesized an enormous amount of this invaluable element in a matter of days, and now bear it right here in your chest. Your core, though immensely small, must have reacted to the sheer amount of seiðr being constantly poured directly into it, and has grown immensely in its presence. That, my beautiful, genius Anthony, is why you possess such immense magical potential."

“Damn,” Tony muttered, “I...that’s crazy.”

“You _gave yourself_ magic,” Loki mused again, shaking his head and looking at Tony with an expression of both pride and immense love. Tony felt that it was due time for another round of kissing, and they were thus engaged for many more minutes. Finally Loki pulled away, gazing with unguarded eyes at the softly panting inventor.

“Sleep now,” Loki ordered, smiling adoringly at him, and Tony rested his head on Loki’s chest with a contented smile and did just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Unless otherwise noted, all fanart is NOT my own.


	19. Loki's Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Finally!  
> Hope you like the one fanart piece I drew for this chapter. No one has drawn young Hela quite like how she was in my dream, so I went ahead and touched up an old drawing of mine. It's acceptable, I hope, though obviously nothing in comparison to some of the other amazing fanart that I will also be incorporating into the chapter! Many thanks to all their respective artists! Hopefully these drawings will give you vivid pictures in your head, and you can visualize the story as you read! ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't be upset that I am introducing Loki's children in the form of abrupt summaries. These descriptions are by no means exhaustive, and should help you to get a feel for them before I properly introduce them all later! (I don't want to full-out introduce their characters more than twice, forgive me.)
> 
> Also: VERY IMPORTANT  
> These are the best characters I've ever thought up (dreams are handy like that sometimes), and I plan to write a real book eventually. So, if you ever see very similar characters with altered names and backstories appear in a story with the main character named Sapphire, please don't, you know, make that connection except for in your head! The author did not steal it, it's me! I just really don't want that story linked to this one. I am placing immense trust in you as my readers to keep my characters safe. My gay ships are a secret from most everyone I know other than my mom and a few close friends, and I would prefer that everyone in my life and the whole world not find out about my guilty pleasure if I ever become a successful author. Not everyone would understand. It could definitely cause some controversy, unfortunately, and it's going to be an appropriate book meant for teens. :) I trust you guys to keep the secret, though!

_—==Tuesday, Sept 25th==—_

Many things happened in the next three months.

Steve, Clint, and Nat came to live in the tower full time, and Tony finally managed to get into contact with Bruce Banner, with the help of Loki and the Twins, of course. He was starting to get a hang on summoning small illusions and whatnot, and was incredibly proud of summoning a glowing salmon for his first ever illusion animal (though Loki had commented that it wasn’t swimming quite right, to which Tony replied that he ‘wasn’t a bloody ichthyologist’)

He also got to meet Loki’s children. First, it was the twins, of which he was not a huge fan...damn kids got into everything. Then, he met Loki’s eldest sons, and his daughter and youngest son last of all. They were all naturally blue, but they went around illusioned like Loki. Also, they were all total badasses, almost to the point of labeling them ‘ridiculously overpowered.’

Sleipnir was the oldest, being around 18 when you converted his age to human years. Loki had determined that the age conversion was about 80 Jotunn years for every human one, and 75 for Asgardians. Sleipnir had definitely inherited his mom’s good looks.

When in humanoid form, he usually had six arms— very handy for all sorts of things...pun not intended. He could shapeshift them away, but he rarely did. He was a nerd at heart, a huge fan of Disney and Star Wars, and a virtuoso musician. Tony couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around how the guy played the drums-guitar-keyboard thing that the Twins had helped him build...and _sing_ at the same time. Tony couldn’t even play one instrument at a time, much less three, and sing? Not a chance in Hel! He was ridiculously speedy, wielding six katanas at once, becoming an unstoppable supersonic tornado all while somehow managing to not slice himself to bits.

Oh, and also, he was a horse with _eight_ legs, the one that Loki had given birth to, and could somehow run through the sky and outer space basically at the speed of light. Figures.

Second oldest was Fenris, sixteen and a half, almost always calm and quiet, and sometimes ‘emo.’ He was more rough angles than Loki, and no offense, had a more ‘manly’ look like Thor. Course, we all know what kind of appearance _Tony_ preferred. He could be a bit flirty and cocky when his crazy younger brothers riled him up, but most of the time he lounged around painting, drawing, or cooking. He could play the guitar, and had a great voice like Sleipnir. His favorite thing to do was study healing magic and medical practices from every realm, comparing, studying and mastering them. He longed to reveal himself to the public and put his immense knowledge to practice saving lives. He shape-shifted between his humanoid form and a massive wolf, larger than the Hulk by far, though he often toned down the size to suit his purpose.

**Appearance of Fenris *see notes below***

Like the Hulk, he relied on brute strength and size when fighting as a wolf, and wielded a metal pole when humanoid that could be broken in half to form dual weapons and then reconnected.

Next oldest were Nari and Váli, the identical twins, almost 10, who were also identical to their dad at a young age. Not only that, but they were pranksters to rival him. They had a serious case of the twin complex, glued to each other at all times, and literally finishing each other’s sentences. They were little acrobats, flexible beyond belief, and parkour masters. They used their stealth and agility to both defeat their enemies and pull their pranks, repeatedly telling Tony that they aspired to be ‘Ninja Avengers.’ They had already come up with their superhero name: The Twin Fireballs. Fireballs, because unlike the rest of their Jotunn family, they had somehow ended up wielding fire instead of ice, which made absolutely no sense to anyone. They were adept at enchanting things, illusioning themselves as different people and mimicking voices like their father. On top of all this, they were little technological and mechanical engineering geniuses. Excelling at hacking, they had broken through his layers of firewalls without him even knowing it, stolen the base code for Jarvis, rewritten it, and made their own little A.I. that ran an incredible little talking automaton cat. While the A.I. was not nearly as complex as Jarvis, and lacked the smooth British accent, C.R.E.E.P., aka, the Coolest Robot Ever Existing, Period, was a feat of machinery unlike anything Tony had seen before. Made of vibranium and titanium and coated in sleek chrome, it was near unbreakable, the seams so tight around its joints you couldn’t even see them, and its ruby eyes contained a dozen different cameras and sensors. It had a radar system, connected to its own invisible satellite they had launched into orbit, and could even x-ray vision through walls, not to mention the fact that it was at least as agile as a real cat. Tony was in awe of them, honestly, though the boys seemed to practically worship him and the other Avengers.

Hela, second youngest, was the third reincarnation of Hel, a cosmic force ruling over death. The kid ruled over the realm of the dead, but no one realized that she was the equivalent of about a five-year-old, because she could shift into her older alter-ego at will. She had been chosen from birth to be the alternate form of the Queen of the Underworld for the Nine Realms, after Hel’s second reincarnation was killed several centuries earlier by—you guessed it—Thanos. Hel wasn’t going to be taking any more chances though. Both she and Loki watched that kid like hawks, and if the vulnerable Hela appeared to be in any sort of danger, the un-killable Hel would take over. Thankfully, that was what had happened during the invasion of New York, when the building collapsed on the child with a terrifying alter-ego. Hel usually didn’t take part in affairs other than those relating to the dead, but she had become more and more inclined to defend what her reincarnation wanted, despite her long-upheld vow to never be biased. Though she had always maintained a level of fear and terrible respect from the living, and had displayed immense fury before if one questioned her ways or did not bow before her, she was incredibly fair when it came to judging the dead. The honored dead in Valhalla (honored warriors) and Folkvangr (regular honored dead), and especially those who had died at a young age and resided in the pleasant upper levels of Helheim (weird, right? Who knew that Hell was sunny up top?) apparently respected her greatly, and even loved her when she transformed into the warm and bubbly Hela. She never ceased her work in trying to make the trillions of good souls in her realm have a good afterlife. For all the icy walls she put up when displaying herself to the living, Tony had figured out that she had a soft heart, though she only let it show through Hela.

Loki and Tony could only hope that the volatile goddess would fight on their side when the time came. Tony knew that she was already greatly angered with Thanos for killing her second reincarnation, and she held a great deal of respect for Loki. Apparently, her other reincarnations had been mistreated by their parents and cast out of their societies. Loki was the exception, loving Hela as much as any of his children, and so Hel was slightly biased toward Loki and family. How did they know all that? Well, turns out this kid was actually ‘one’ with Hela, unlike Bruce Banner and the Hulk, and while she had the mentality of a 5 year old, she held all of the knowledge of Hel and her two previous reincarnations, and had the same unbiased mentality for everyone except her family. She let Hel take over her body when she was dealing with living beings other than her family, and now Tony.

Hel was freaking scary from the one glance he had gotten of the dark goddess in conversation with Loki, but he got used to Hela, despite the left side of her being mostly skeleton.

She could illusion the dead side if she wanted, but Tony had made sure to tell her from the moment he met her that it didn’t matter to him in the slightest how she looked, and after a while, she stopped using magic to cover it up. She really was a sweet little girl at heart, even though she talked about the dead more than the living, could see through his freaking soul, and the crayon pictures she drew for him were often disturbing and involved far too many skeletons.

Youngest of all was Jörmungandr, around eight months old in human years. Still too young to shape-shift, Jörmungandr remained in the form of a pearlescent blue-green sea-serpent around six feet long and about the size of Loki's forearm in girth, with flared fins of sorts on the sides of his head. He would flare the flaps out and open and close his fan-like tail as a strange little way of communicating his emotions. 

Capable of turning invisible at will, the baby was very hard to find sometimes, but they found that he liked to hang out in the training room, alternating between swimming in the Olympic sized swimming pool and hanging from the rafters, making it confusing as to whether he was a sea serpent or a tree boa. They found out later on that he could swing around things to build up speed and launch himself up into the rafters, oftentimes failing and falling in the pool, or just magically make himself longer to reach, like Fenris could grow or shrink his wolf form in size. Jörmungandr was actually an Argr Jotunn like Loki, so he didn’t actually have a defined gender, but like all Argr Jotunns, he by default would look like a male on the outside.

Oh, and also, very important, wouldn’t want to forget! They had taken a little trip...to Nornheim. The ethereal land of the Norns, the three fates. Hel had found a tiny portal to the so-called ‘tenth realm,’ deep within her own realm of Helheim. Supposedly, no soul, living or dead, had ever ventured into that land.

They had chosen to pay the sacred realm a visit for one reason:

Apples.

Apples of Immortality.

Loki would make him a god. He cared enough to risk life and limb for him to do so. Tony flashed back to that unfinished thought from so long ago and completed it in his head. The one about there being a way to increase his magical center, “but it doesn’t matter because you wouldn’t do it to be with…” Me. Because doing it would mean commitment. The scariest commitment Tony would ever have to make in his life.

It would mean forever.

Tony accepted.

And so, Loki, Tony, and the kids teamed up and raided Nornheim. It wasn’t easy, of course…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger, because I'm evil. ;3
> 
> Fenris appears like the first picture (but no chains and arrows of course, because he's not a raging monster, though he is a bit intimidating to his enemies), but the max size he took in my dream was coincidentally about the same as the Fenris from Thor Ragnarok (and the movie wasn't out yet): https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7qjqE3-0lgY/hqdefault.jpg
> 
> For Nari and Vali, literally duplicates of young Loki from Thor 1. Double trouble!  
> https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/1/19/Young_Loki.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/300/height/300?cb=20190417114940
> 
> You wanna know what Fenris looked like in my dream? I can try...like, a teenage version of a strange mixture between Loki and Bucky. Best I can give you.


	20. I Would Have You Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the first bit of real action in the story.

_—==Saturday, July 28==—_

(Flashback to Nornheim)

“Hurry!” Fenris bellowed from where he was holding a giant dragon-thing off with the black metal gate door of the orchard they were currently in. It was at least three times as big as his giant wolf form that he had just shifted into…and no, Tony wasn’t even talking about the dragon.

He was talking about the freaking _door._

The dragon they were facing off now was more like a worm than a dragon, honestly. It was the size of a skyscraper in length, and its undulating black coils stretched out into the distance of the realm. The primordial monster was easily the most hideous thing that Tony had seen, and it smelled something awful. Tony had just been through Helheim, and the undead zombie guys they called ‘Draugr’ smelled better than this thing by far. He was never going to be able to un-smell the horrific stench of death, disease, and acrid poison from the giant worm. They didn’t call it ‘Corpse Breath’ for no reason.

If Tony was any less of a man, his pants would have been done for.

“What IS that thing?” he cried, though he realized it was a rhetorical question. Stinging fumes from the spitting poison filled the air around him and he coughed inside his suit. His eyes burned like fire, even through the protective layer of enchantments.

“You insufferable fools!” the immortal goddess Idunn screamed in the background, but she could not touch them herself. She had vowed to remain forever peaceful. But her pet was the opposite of peaceful, that was for sure. She wrenched out her glowing golden hair and screamed in her terrible voice like the gargling acid of her monstrous serpent, “Níðhögg, stop them, you impudent lizard! Níðhögg!!!”

Tony’s heart was pounding, and he was undeniably afraid. Why had he even agreed to this, again? He didn’t need to live forever to enjoy a life with Loki. Now he might lose him because of it...and Loki’s family was in great danger too. At least he hadn’t brought the youngest ones. Only Sleipnir and Fenris had come with them. Sleipnir was now missing in action, fighting with Níðhögg’s coils and tail elsewhere.

“The tail is just as bad as the front end,” Loki had warned, “It is laden with spikes and he has incredible awareness of his surroundings anywhere on his body.”

Tony was worried about Sleipnir when he didn’t make it to the orchard with them, but Loki was certain he was still alive and had stayed behind for a reason.

“He is forcing the serpent to focus on defending multiple parts of his body at once. It is a helpful distraction,” Loki explained.

As he watched, the enormous serpent slammed a coil into the gate with a jarring thud, knocking the doors off its hinges. Fenris slammed it back up against the opening, but not fast enough to stop the splatter of toxic goop around the edges. The wolf howled in pain as the searing droplets of acid fell on him. He shook in the way that only a dog could, trying to get the poison off of his fur. Loki looked up from where he was trying to break the branch off of the tree of immortality apples in immediate concern. He had been hitting it with an enchanted sword because they had figured out that touching the apples while they were still on the tree meant instant vaporization. Some accursed dead soul from Helheim had followed them through the portal and tried to return to life by taking an apple before they had even reached the foot of the tree. Gone, instantaneously.

Hence, why Loki had been being incredibly careful as he sawed away on the branch. and then he had to start thwacking it, because the deep-colored wood was at least ten feet thick, and he was getting nowhere. Níðhögg slammed a giant coil against the door being held again with a rumbling clang.

“Fenris!” Loki yelled, “The poison!”

“I’ve got it dad. I swear, it was just some flecks. I’m already healed...I think…” Fenris yelled via his magic, before the massive wolf collapsed with a puppy-like whine. The heavy door fell on top of him, and Loki screeched. He handed Tony the sword and hopped to the ground, and quickly found himself face to face with the steaming, acid spitting face of a very-angry World-Tree Serpent. The thing could barely fit its head through the massive door to the orchard. A colossal, mottled green-and-black coil dripped steaming greenish-colored sludge as it came to rest over the fallen door and Fenris’s crushed form.

No.

No, no, no, not Loki’s son. They were not going to come out of this without one of Loki’s kids.

And now he had to be worried about Loki too. Loki who was _pregnant,_ and absolutely should not be fighting enormous monsters right now.

The serpent stopped when it saw, or rather _sensed_ the small, angry god staring it down, and Tony got a chance to examine it that he didn’t really want or need. The thing’s eyes were swollen shut from thousands of years of disuse. Its teeth didn’t exactly flash...they were brown and cracked...row upon row of serrated blades meant for tearing the ancient roots of a primordial tree. Its mouth, easily the size of a small swimming pool when open, dripped foul puddles of black and dark green poison.

Steaming acid ate at the metal door protecting Fenris. If he hadn’t already been crushed by the sheer weight of the door and the monstrous section of the serpent on top of that, then the poison broiling off the decaying, slimy, bark-like skin of the armored wyrm was going to ooze under the door and get him very shortly...they said that a single teaspoon of this stuff coming into contact with bare skin was enough to burn flesh from bone and kill an Asgardian like Thor in minutes. Through ingestion? A few droplets. Not good, because the thing was also releasing its poison in toxic vapor. The fumes alone would be enough to kill a human without enchantments like he had right now from where he was hiding in the tree, over 100 feet away. At the very least, they would knock out an Asgardian, and probably cause severe brain damage.

The only reason Loki and Fenris weren’t already dead was because of their enchantments and the wine they drank. And no, they hadn’t drank some nifty enchanted wine.

You see, it takes a lot to get an Asgardian drunk.

It takes even more to get a Jotunn drunk, with their even higher metabolisms and incredible regeneration.

To get a Jotunn Seiðr drunk? Almost impossible. When he had offered Loki a drink earlier on when they were dating, he had declined, saying it tasted like filth. Course, Thor had said something similar too. But then when Tony offered some of Thor’s incredibly potent ‘Royal Asgardian mead’ that he still had on stock, Loki had also declined that.

He remembered the one and only time he had tried the stuff. Thor had just come back down to Earth briefly to check in after the Chitauri Invasion and help with rebuilding. The God of Thunder was using their emergency transport thingymajigger since the Bifrost was still under repairs. (Speaking of which, said transporter apparently was damaged after that return trip and was deemed too dangerous to try to transport any sentient being with, according to the raven with a letter they had managed to send with the nearly-broken device. And indeed, the raven had been missing a leg when it had shown up half-dead at the Triskelion with the message, thus proving the point.)

Anyways, on his final visit to Earth before their last means of transportation broke, Thor had brought a small keg of Asgardian mead with him, and when Tony had asked to try it, he had rummaged in Tony’s cabinet and given him the smallest shot glass he could find and only filled it halfway up. Tony remembered raising an eyebrow.

“It is very strong for mortals. I would not have your heart stopping,” Thor explained.

“I can handle my alcohol, Thor,” Tony rolled his eyes, pouring at least a full shot and downing the mead in a swig. Who takes mead in a shot glass, anyway?

A burning fire immediately went coursing through his body, and he broke out into a sweat. He could feel his heart beating in his ears, and his vision started going wonky. Whoa there, Tony.

“Mead in a shot glass,” he giggled after a minute, reaching blindly in a pathetic attempt to get another glass. He was pretty sure he was in the general vicinity of the keg stopper. Maybe. “Where’s...at?” He sounded funny, even to himself, “Nah...Thor, whatcha doin’. Stuff is shit...gimme more.” He felt like he was doing cartwheels and then the ground fell out from beneath him. Damn ground. He keeled over beside the table, and very quickly started snoring.

“I tried to warn you,” Thor had said, continuing to guzzle a flask of the stuff like it was common beer, “Very strong for mortals.”

On that note, given that the stuff was designed to get Asgardians drunk and it did it well, Tony had been befuddled when Loki said it wasn’t nearly strong enough for his tastes.

“What the hell do you drink then?” Tony asked. Was there seriously something stronger than that shit?

“I drink elderberry wine with a bit of a punch, to put it mildly.” Loki smirked, “There is only one alcoholic beverage I know that can make a Jotunn Seiðr ‘tipsy.’ I have built myself up to being able to take three drops of the Yggdrasil Serpent Níðhögg’s venom in every drink. That much would kill my brother after a few sips, I believe.”

“Damn, babe. You sure that’s good for you?”

“It is no worse for me than your alcohol is for you. I believe the word is ‘relativity.’ For my body, it is safe. For you or even Thor? Deadly.”

So, now they were fighting the source of Loki’s alcoholic beverages, and he did _not_ look like something Tony would want to make wine from.

Loki had also said his son was named after this thing...sort of. Tony had no idea what had been going through Loki’s head at that point. It’s name was Níðhögg, but it had a number of names, apparently. The World-Tree Serpent, The Ancient Wyrm, and The Midgard Serpent were just a few of them. The last one was because the giant monster had once decided it was tired of gnawing on the roots of Yggdrasil, the tree that connected the nine realms, and took a few-hundred-year repose under the oceans of Midgard. Anyways, Jörmungandr literally meant “Midgard Serpent”...as in he was a snake born on Earth, not Jotunnheim or Asgard. He was born as recently as 1960 something, Loki had said, when his wife and children were residing right here on this planet.

Tony's loose-cannon of a mind flashed back to the present in an instant, seeing the monster smelling for Loki, sensing that he was standing mere yards away from his razor-sharp teeth, inching closer and closer.

“Loki!” Tony yelped. Loki did not look back at him, yelling out, “Fenris! Are you conscious?”

The serpent lashed out with wide jaws, and fear seized Tony’s heart. Loki wasn’t even looking at the creature, staring instead at his second son, who was pinned under the giant metal door, and now a coil of the primordial serpent. Oh gods...he was going to watch his soul-mate get devoured in front of him.

Loki stuck out a hand and created a force field at the last second, and the serpent bashed his snout against it angrily, letting out a chilling rattling noise from its throat like thousands of snapping bones. The shield flickered at each strike with sparks of energy and little bursts of green flame, but it held.

“Mom!” Sleipnir screamed, finally arriving, zipping forward at lightning speed in his humanoid form and trying to pick up the god, but Loki shoved him away, picking his way through rubble and acid to try to make his way to the fallen Fenris, “Your brother!”

Sleipnir glared, “Mom. I will get him. Get out of here. Get back to Tony, please.”

“Sleipnir!”

“Think about your baby, and don’t worry about us right now,” his eldest pleaded, and Tony blessed the kid in that moment. Loki’s kids really were the best...and he knew they had turned out that way because they had such a loving father and mother. Especially Loki. He was the best dad...and mom...that Tony had ever seen.

Níðhögg spat poison on the force field, and the green shield flickered. Loki dove under a flailing coil of the beast and rolled to safety at the base of a nearby tree, coming to a halt with an exhausted sigh. The gallons of poison oozing on the hissing shield splattered on the ground where they had been standing, but Sleipnir was already long gone.

“Loki, thank God!” Tony breathed, flying down to meet him as he jogged to safety at the foot of the tree he was still in.

“I cannot climb up with you right now, love. Go back up, keep cutting!” Loki said, leaning against the trunk and panting heavily, “I am fine, the child is fine. The enchantments I placed on her are keeping her safe.”

“Sleipnir’s getting Fenris?”

“Yes, I hope…” Loki cried, voice cracking, “Oh Norns, this is a disaster.”

“I know...Fuck, why did we have to do this? For me?”

“I would have you forever, my Tony,” Loki whispered, cupping a hand on the cold iron cheek of his suit, “My children understand that. But I will not lose them either. We will come out of this...I swear."

Then, Sleipnir was back with an unconscious Fenris. He was halfway between a Jotunn and a small wolf, and his skin and fur were steaming and charred in places, but he was breathing. He was still alive. Loki nearly broke into tears at the sight, rushing toward his injured son, while Sleipnir dashed off into the sky again, transforming into a horse again before he began running too fast to distinguish. The super-fast horse flitted around the serpent’s face and the monster spit poison everywhere, but he couldn’t begin to hit the tiny blur that was distracting him. Good old Sleipnir...that kid really was something else.

Tony hacked at the tree with a new force, using all the strength of his suit to fuel his blows. The tree bled gold liquid at each strike now that he had struck through its core. He was close! Currently his husband and children were safe, and he intended to keep it that way. But Fenris was dying, would be dead in minutes, if he didn’t get him an apple. He wasn’t about to let one of Loki’s kids die for him. He couldn’t live with that…

“Hurry, Tony!” Loki cried, pain evident in his voice as he pushed all the magic he could through Fenris’s system, keeping his heart beating and trying to counteract the most powerful of all poisons coursing through his veins. Tony could feel the magic surging through Loki’s body from here, and the god was glowing green with flames.

The tree branch groaned, and then fell...and a torrent of golden liquid from where the tree branch had been severed spewed down onto Loki. Tony cursed the worse swear words that he knew, but after a second, he realized that Loki was fine...no disappearing, no screaming. Loki looked down at himself, dripping wet with golden sap and beginning to glow, and then grabbed a golden apple that had rolled to his feet from the fallen branch without hesitation. Tony flew down to join him, grabbing the branch and stripping it of dozens of apples as fast as he could, “Let’s get out of here! Where’s Sleipnir?!”

“He shall return presently,” Loki said, accepting the apples in twos and vanishing them into his pocket in the Netherspace with little green puffs.

The eight-legged horse had lured Níðhögg relatively far away, but Níðhögg had a great sense of smell, and Idunn was floating alongside him and attempting to guide him. Whenever Sleipnir showed back up again, they had mere seconds before the tremendous black wyrm came slithering back after him.

“Here!” the teen cried, appearing with a flash and a boom. He was using magic to speak in his normal voice, since he was currently a horse, “I saw the branch fall. We might want to go, like, now. Níðhögg is right behind me.” Loki hopped on his son’s back, hauling Fenris’s now fully-humanoid and blue form up in front of him. Sleipnir dashed off in the direction of the portal, and Tony took off flying after him.

“Sir, Níðhögg will reach your location in approximately twenty five seconds. Should I bump up the speed?” Jarvis asked.

“Yeah, shit…” Tony cursed. Sleipnir took the hint and started running faster as well. Not that such a feat was too much for him, though he was already doing well over 300 mph. Course, with Loki trying to hang on with a not-so-tiny unconscious young man who was actually rather large for a Jotunn seiðr , that was not the easiest of feats. Especially with Loki trying to concentrate on pushing raw magic through his son’s body just to keep his heart from stopping. On top of glowing green, though, something else was happening to his husband, from what he could tell as they raced head to head over strange, warped terrain. The sap had already absorbed into Loki’s skin, and he was glowing with an ethereal light now. Tony hoped that wasn’t permanent...What exactly was that magical tree goop doing to him at this moment?

They made it to the portal long before Níðhögg ever got there. Thank the, uh, Norns, for no more close calls.

Loki looked spooked when they popped back out into Helheim. And no wonder…that had been literally insane. Hela arrived quickly, and shrieked when she saw her older brother unconscious.

“Fen-ris!” she yelped, placing two tiny hands, one flesh and one bone, on his wounds. He glowed green with Hela’s magic, and remaining poison dripping on his skin and eating away at his flesh levitated off of him and vanished.

She looked up at Loki with the most serious of expressions on her toddler face, one that spoke thousands of years of wisdom.

“Go now. Take ’im back to Earth, Papa. The air here is not vewy good for hurt peep-wuls,” Hela implored in her young, but sensible voice.

Loki nodded, “I think he will live. We have the apples. He should live, correct?”

Hela nodded seriously and teleported them back to his penthouse, and Tony collapsed on a sofa. Hela arrived a moment after they did, watching Loki dribble golden liquid from a smashed bit of apple into his son’s mouth. Fenris awoke and lifted his head up off the stained carpet where Loki had laid him, groaning, “The apples?”

“Here. We got them. Eat one, quickly,” Loki urged, slicing one of the golden fruits with his knife. Tony let out a sigh of relief, allowing his suit to disassemble back into a small briefcase and collapsed on the sofa.

“Ugh...I feel like shit,” Fenris said eloquently, “Like, total shit.”

The blue boy scarfed down the sliced fruit, and glowed faintly, his wounds fading away. He sat up and had five more slices, finishing off the apple.

“Whoa,” he muttered, running his hand down his glowing arm, “Bizzare. Great actually. I feel great.” He grinned up at Loki, like a switch had been flipped, “Try one, Dad.”

“I dunno if it’s good for Papa to eat more app-wuls,” Hela muttered, “ He’s alweady aww glowy from the twee, mhmmm.”

“Yeah, sap from the tree sprayed on him...that’s okay, right?” Tony asked, hoping that wasn’t going to be a problem.

Hela grinned her strange smile, only one cheek having the skin to expose teeth in a proper smile. Her dead side permanently showed her teeth, so she always had this half-grin of sorts. “Is diffwent, but I think o-kay... I guess he’s alweady immor-tal ‘cause he’s aww glowy. Maybe even more pow’ful than if he just ate up an app-wul, wight?”

Fenris sighed as his glow faded, as if realizing something now, “I’m...going to be stuck as a teenager forever now, aren’t I?”

“I suppose so,” Loki said, “That is why Tony and I were supposed to be the only ones to consume them. Otherwise, you would not grow out of this state. But you were dying; we had no choice.”

Fenris shrugged, and Sleipnir laughed, turned back into his humanoid form, “I honestly wouldn’t care. I’m a young adult right now, you know. I _really_ want to wait another few hundred years to eat it….yeah, no. Gimme one now.”

Loki sighed, knowing that once Sleipnir made up his mind, he wasn’t going to change it. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Stubborn as a mule, which was actually pretty close to what he was. Stubborn as a horse. Loki tossed his eldest an apple, and Sleipnir changed mid-toss and caught it in his horse teeth. It was gone in three powerful chomps. He reared up and neighed, glowing, and tossed his rich ebony mane, like “Aw yeah.”

“And now, Anthony. It is your turn…” Loki sobbed, unable to stop beaming, “Are you ready to spend more than a Midgardian lifetime with me?”

Tony nodded, and he knew he was grinning like a madman too.

Loki would not have to watch him grow old. He would live...and continue to live on, and on, and on.

He would not abandon Loki, nor would he ever have to say goodbye.

He wanted Loki more than anything, and now he had him.

Forever.

He took the apple from Loki’s hands and ate it without hesitation, feeling the raw power course through his veins as he took on his new immortal form to join his soul mate for the rest of eternity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Nidhogg art I edited: https://art.ngfiles.com/images/46000/46919_archir_nidhog.jpg?f1253748100
> 
> Also, I know Jörmungandr does not mean 'Midgard Serpent' in Icelandic (the language closest to Asgardian) but Loki in this world is not going to name his son 'Huge Monster' so just pretend that it does.


	21. I Like Blue People (Especially When They're You)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my personal favorite chapters (and some of the best fanart to accompany it) ;)  
> Hope you enjoy!

_—==Tuesday, Sept 25th==—_

And so, Tony Stark was a god now. A more powerful god than even Thor, because unlike Thor, he and Loki were true immortals. Yeah, that all happened very suddenly.

He punched bags straight off their hooks, ran marathons full speed on the treadmill without even breaking a sweat, and best of all, his magical core was increased tenfold.

Loki and him were, in his opinion, the most gorgeous beings in existence now: youthful, yet powerful. His muscles were great, and he could go rounds with Loki both in the ring and in bed. The change was so dramatic that Clint insisted that Tony had gotten the best plastic surgery job of all time, and had been doing some serious weightlifting in the tower gym.

“Dude, you look ten years younger, and you’re more buff than you already were, what the hell? Can I have me some of what you got?” he would say.

“Eat your vegetables…” Tony replied stoically, quite impressed with his own ability to keep a straight face...this time, “Or your _fruits_ , those are good too.”

And, the best part of it was Loki was still on good terms with his family. After that little excursion, they came to live in the tower. His kids supported his bonding with Tony, and Tony got along great with the kids. He still screeched whenever Jörmungandr dropped out of the rafters onto his head, though.

This one particular afternoon, while relaxing his penthouse after practicing some small illusions, Tony approached Loki with a big request.

“Hey, Lokes,” Tony started as he approached the couch where Loki was lounging and reading an enormous leather-bound book, “I’ve been thinking about this for while now, but I was afraid to ask you…” he trailed off. Oh gods, he hoped Loki would say yes…

He had only seen Loki like that in the memory, and once in real life, though he hadn’t exactly been focusing on it right then, given that Loki had been making him sign a magical contract at that point in time, but he knew of course. He knew that his Lokes didn’t truly look like him, a human. In his true form, he was blue. Wow, that was an insane thought...he was soul mates with a blue alien demigod. His kid might be part blue! An Ice Baby! Okay, brain, enough of that. Honestly though, he was dying to see him like that, to claim Loki as his no matter what he looked like. He had never even gotten a chance to truly see the frost giant version of his love, under all the armor and for so brief a time period, much less to go where he wanted to go with this urge, but he needed Loki. All of Loki.

“What is it love?” Loki asked, already jittery as Tony began peeling off the god’s shirt and pants, and kissing him fervently. Tony realized he was reading his emotions, as he was so good at doing, and knew something was off.

“I want to fuck you…” Tony stated, breaking away from the kiss. Straight to the point, he was.

Loki snorted, relaxing a little as he slipped cool hands down his back and undressed Tony with his magic in an instant. With a feeling of brief vertigo, they were suddenly tumbling into his bed, “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing for the past four months? What ‘kinky shit,’ as you so endearingly call it, are you about to propose now?” The god leaned back, surveying his devious work with a slight gleam in his eye, but Tony was kind of used to the instant undressing and teleportation thing by now. Still caught him off guard sometimes, though...

“I meant the _real_ you,” Tony said firmly, sitting up. He then fidgeted awkwardly, hoping he wasn’t pushing any limits.

Loki froze once his meaning seemingly clicked, like his brain had just short-circuited. His brow furrowed into a troubled expression in an instant, “You cannot mean…”

“Yes, I can,” Tony insisted.

“My...my Jotunn form? How could you ever want that? I am hideous!” Loki cried, a pain on his face that hurt Tony to see, moving to the opposite side of the bed. Oh gods of freaking Asgard, maybe he _was_ pushing too far. He did that all the time, didn’t he? Pushed people until they hit their limit and snapped. Or was he just overthinking, and this was something that Loki needed to work through? He did that, too. This could be his one chance to prove Loki wrong, to correct his irrational beliefs and show him that he wasn’t a monster. He had to take a chance, but he couldn't afford to blow it. What to say, what to say?

“I’ve only caught a glimpse of you and I know that’s not true,” Tony said, with a nonchalant wink that he hoped would put Loki at ease, “Come on. I’m not going to judge you or anything. ”

Loki swallowed hard, “Tony, I...I truly do not think this is the best of ideas. What if you think it is abhorrent? And I might injure you! I could quite literally freeze you!”

“Loki, look at me. I would never hate you, ever, no matter what form you’re in. And don’t worry, I think our magic will protect me,” Tony argued.

Loki shuddered, looking away for a long time, seemingly disgusted, though….not with Tony. Oh gods, it was worse than what had seen in the memories.

“I just...I am scared...but I...alright…yes. You may. If this is what you truly want...” he murmured, looking up with a mournful glance, like he was afraid Tony was going to ditch him on the spot. No, Bambi...just, no.

“It is,” Tony affirmed forcefully, then softer the second time, “It is.”

 _Breathe, Lokes,_ Tony let his magic whisper in Loki’s mind. _I want you. I need this. But only when you are ready._

 _I am not, but I do not think I ever will be more ready..._ Loki’s whisper came back even fainter.

 _Show me now, then. While you have the courage,_ Tony responded, pressing his forehead to Loki’s and trying to infuse him with calm.

 _Yes,_ came the faintest reply of them all. Loki shied away from him, slipping off the bed and standing a little ways away from it, seemingly psyching himself up for the transformation. Tony gave him his space.

After a minute, his dark-haired lover clenched his fists and shut his eyes. And just like that, he began to transform. The change came quickly. Tony watched with eager eyes as blue swiftly ran up from his fingers, racing up his arms. The deep color sank down his chest, and seeped up his neck and onto his face like pools of ink. Along with the color came raised lines in mystical patterns spiraling out on his skin. He hadn’t noticed it the first time he had seen Loki like this, with Loki leaned against his bed, but Loki was also taller in this form. He had grown over half a foot in height almost instantly. Now the god that already towered over him was truly a giant in comparison. Tony's mind started doing background calculations, trying to figure out how they could reach to kiss. Transformation complete, the now fully-blue demigod just stood there, eyes shut and face turned away slightly.

Tony eyes darted over his body, following the lines, tracing them down over his collarbone and curling up his forearms.

When his lover finally opened his eyes, they were not longer green, but rather a rich crimson color. There was no white in them at all. Unfortunate, yes, but not a tragedy...they were possibly even more intense than in green, actually. And they did say that the color red was a sexual primer...

Tony continue to stare unabashedly and in pure awe. Loki had to be crazy, because he was anything but hideous! The alien standing beside his bed was no less incredible than his normal lover, and he still looked like Loki, in all honesty. He was just...blue. Blue, primal, and beautiful.

“Damn,” Tony whispered.

Loki looked worried, “I…”

Tony darted out of the bed and up to his god without hesitation. He pressed a finger to Loki’s deep-indigo lips before he could even finish his thought. They were icy cold, but not terribly so.

“Shh. Don’t even say it, Bambi. You’re gorgeous.”

Loki was shocked, jerking his face away from Tony’s finger like he was afraid he would burn him, “I do not understand how…”

“What I don’t understand is how anyone could _not_ see you as good looking and how you could be with Amora and not see that Jotunns are beautiful…It was okay for her to be blue, but not you? That’s all kinds of wrong.”

Loki sighed shakily, looking torn, guilty, and so unsure, “I know not…it is just...well, it is one thing for a Jotunn to not mind the monstrous appearance of other Jotunns, that is only natural, but ’tis another thing entirely…”

“No, it’s not. You’re fucking hot as hell, babe, if you don’t mind the ironic phrase,” Tony interjected, “ And besides, blue and red are my favorite colors.”

“But how?! How can you like... _this_?” Loki breathed, eyeing his hands with a look of revulsion that made Tony’s heart throb in sympathy. Tony covered them with one of his own, and tipped Loki’s head up to look him in the eyes.

“Because, Loki, I’m in love with you, I’m not a racist Asgardian, clearly, and I find blue people hot, especially when they’re you, so just shut up, okay?” he said, desperate for something, anything to make Loki understand that he wasn’t hideous, wasn’t a monster, and was loved.

“O..okay,” Loki whispered after a long moment, smiling weakly now, and Tony let out a quiet sigh of relief. Loki’s eyes were wet and sparkling, even in the dim light. Tony embraced his mate, ignoring the cold. He tugged Loki over to the bed after a moment, sitting down. Loki caught on, and went on his knees beside the bed, and now their height difference worked out just fine. Tony leaned forward, twining his fingers through his oh-so-soft hair and claiming Loki’s mouth in a passionate kiss. He was surprised to find that Loki’s mouth was slightly warm, contrasting greatly with his ice cold lips and skin. Time seemed to come to a halt, and the only thing left was soft, chilly lips and little gasps in between long, drawn-out kisses, and exploring hands mapping out the expanses of one another’s flesh. Tony shivered at the freezing cold hands roaming his body, sure he had goose bumps by now, but he wasn’t cold enough to be uncomfortable, and Loki seemed to have lost himself in their long make-out session, forgetting his previous anxiety about being in his real skin.

“So, how are we going to do this?” Tony asked, reluctantly pulling away for a moment, “You choose, Bambi. I could bottom, if you think it’s safer for the kid, or…”

“No, I wish for you to have me. The child will be quite alright. I think I should like to, ah, pleasure you first though, for I fear I should run out of stamina.”

“You that tired? Geez, she really is sucking the juice out of you,” Tony said, standing up, about to move out of the way so Loki could get up on the bed, “So, what are we going to...oh _damn._ ”

Loki had dove for his crotch with lightning speed, tracing an icy cold hand down his back in that way that always made Tony shudder and tugging his hips forward. What was it with this guy and the surprise blowjobs? Not that he was complaining. At all. Surprise blowjobs were always welcome around here, so long as they were from Loki…

Except this time, the mouth enveloping his length was not quite so warm, and the ring of plush lips was like ice as it slid down his arousal. Tony gave a strangled and almost pained-sounding cry of shock, and Loki pulled back quickly.

“What is…” Loki started confusedly, and then froze, looking down at his hands and back up at Tony, a look of panic on his face, “Oh...Oh Norns, forgive me. I forgot I...Are you hurt? Sorry, so.…”

“Don’t be sorry,” Tony said exasperatedly, grasping Loki’s shaking hands, and doing his best to cut off his frantic apologies, cursing in his head all the while. His arousal was flagging from the initial shock and the distraction and stress of trying to calm Loki down. Fucking hell. Loki had finally been getting comfortable in his own skin, and now Tony had gone and ruined it.

“You just startled me is all,” Tony explained, “It’s shocking enough when you pop a regular blowjob on me, but I’ve never, uh, had a cold one before. It’s just something new...which I am not opposed to trying, you know.”

Loki frowned, scrunching up his face in the most adorable way, “You are not hurt?”

“Of course not. Just surprised. Most humans yelp like they’re dying when they’re shocked with something cold, you know. Even if they are expecting it. Hence why the new craze sweeping the nation is the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ where dumbasses willingly dump buckets of ice-water on themselves ‘for charity’ and then scream like six-year-old girls, whether they are or not.”

Loki smiled a little at his frantic babbling, “So…’twas just a reflex then?”

“Just a reflex.”

“And...you want me to?”

“What I want you to do is whatever you would do in your Asgardian skin,” Tony said with a wink, “Why don’t you seduce me so we can get this party on the road again? You’re really good at that.”

Loki nodded, tentatively kissing him again. They were back to 1st base again, but Tony didn’t mind. He had all the time in the world to wait. It wasn’t long before Loki gradually grew bolder, shifting his kiss down to the stubble on his jawline, and then to sucking at his neck and Tony couldn’t help but smirk as he tilted his head back to allow Loki access.

“That’s it babe,” he moaned as Loki fell to using teeth on the flesh presented to him.

Loki glanced up after a moment, and Tony could see a sort of hunger in his eyes, lust addling his senses and making him forget his fear. Good.

The inventor made sure not to hold back any sounds as an eager tongue moved to exploring around his arc reactor, and he didn’t need to exaggerate his pleasure when Loki rolled his nipple between his teeth and followed it up by licking a stripe up his stomach. By the time Loki got back around to his erection, he had a raging hard-on again. Loki hesitated for a moment, looking up at him, studying his reaction, and Tony nodded, “Go on. Try again, I promise I won’t scream this time.”

He shut his eyes as Loki’s chilled lips closed over just his head, and tried not squirm at the strange feeling. Loki gradually started working his magic with his tongue and bobbling his head, and the chilliness faded into the back of his mind. Before long, Tony was having to resist that pesky urge to thrust forward. Loki had never given him a blowjob while he was standing before, and the power difference was unsettling.

Loki noticed his twitching hands, as Tony was unsure about whether placing them on Loki’s head and ending up forcing his mouth down onto him was a good idea or not. He was afraid he would be tempted to start fucking the guy’s mouth. It was hard enough to stay still when he was lying back, much less in a position with so much dangerous power.

But then Loki caught an offending hand, and led it to the back of his head, looking up with needy, pleading eyes, and a icy hand tugging at his hips caused him to thrust into Loki’s mouth.

“Oh God, you want me to...okay...wow.”

A nod. Holy crap. Okay. He would have to be really careful with this. The guy probably had no idea what he was asking for. He had said that he had never given a blowjob before Tony, and while he was incredible when he was in control, Tony wasn’t so sure that he would like it when he had a cock five miles down his throat. Not to mention, Tony was a god now, super-strength and all, so he was pretty sure his thrusts packed a bit more of punch than they had used to. Not to mention, he was a bit longer and thicker than he used to be. Gotta love god apples...

“You sure?” he asked, and Loki nodded, harrumphing and tugging at his hips again.

 _Anthony. I can take it,_ Loki’s voice trickled into his thoughts. _I want it._

Tony took a breath and slowly thrust forward, trying not to die from the strange pleasure he got from his cock slipping past Loki’s lips and tongue and entering his throat. Loki finally gagged, tears coming to his eyes and running down his face, freezing as they went. Tony stopped, but the god shook his head as best he could with such a mouthful and pressed his face close to Tony’s groin, taking in more than he would have thought possible.

“Shit,” Tony cursed, as Loki swallowed around his length, his tongue pressing up in just the right way against the nerve on the bottom of his cock, and an undulating wave pulsed down his length. Loki didn’t protest when he pulled back and thrust forward again, and then a third time. He took the risk and carded his fingers through Loki’s silky smooth hair, pulling his head all the way in, forcing Loki to take every single inch of his cock, and Loki actually moaned, the sound vibrating against him in the most sensual way. It didn’t take more than a dozen careful thrusts before he was coming, hard, and Loki gasped and gurgled at the hot liquid filling his throat, but he was staring up at him with wide eyes as he struggled to swallow around him, his expression reading: ‘I trust you.’

“Good boy,” Tony praised, smirking down at his beautiful, beautiful Jotunn, formerly indigo lips slightly swollen and a deep purple now, to match his adorable dark flush and his killer erection, curving up toward his stomach after just having his mouth used as a fuck toy, “So eager to please tonight, huh? God, you’re incredible. You just keep managing to surprise me, you know.” Tony knew he was babbling, but it was euphoria talk, and Loki didn’t seem to mind. He took that beautiful swollen cock in one hand as he cradled Loki in his arms. It would have been quite the feat for his past self, but now he just lifted his pregnant husband up onto the bed with ease, and cemented his lips to Loki’s bruised ones. Loki let him dominate the kiss, which he rarely did, and Tony tasted the strange bitter-sweetness of his own come in the warmth of Loki’s mouth. Wait, warmth? That...was strange. He had been wondering why Loki’s mouth wasn’t unbearably icy, like his lips, but why was he just now noticing this?

“Huh, that’s strange,” he noted, pulling away for a second to get a bottle of lube.

“What?” Loki asked.

“Your mouth is warm, babe. Not nearly as cold as your skin. In fact...it might even be hotter than a human’s mouth.”

“Sorry?” Loki’s expression was one of sheer confusion.

“You’ve never become a Jotunn for very long, have you?” Tony asked, spreading Loki’s legs and slowly sliding a slick finger into him. He snorted, “You’re burning up in there! Your skin may be unnaturally cold, but your body apparently begins to compensate after a little while by maintaining a high temperature inside? Ha! I knew you couldn’t be all frozen!”

“I...I see,” Loki murmured, looking away.

“Love you,” Tony said after a moment of silence, putting a hand on Loki’s cheek again, and looking him eye to eye.

Tears came to Loki’s eyes, but he was smiling weakly as he looked down at Tony, and Tony smirked up at him, “I’m going to take good care of you tonight, beautiful,”

Loki bit his finger as Tony slowly slipped in another digit, and another, all the while pressing sticky kisses to Loki’s cool chest and nuzzling his stomach gently. He traced the strange markings covering Loki’s chest and thighs, and Loki made tiny whimpers at each brush of the lines, his tense, whipcord muscles relaxing and his form melting in the bed. So that’s what those were for… He smiled deviously, and began tracing the raised lines of his frost giant lover’s skin with a focused intensity, loving the way Loki almost immediately began pressing into his touch, a strange, guttural thrum emitting from deep in his throat, like the purr of an engine...or a large cat, actually. He peppered kisses on Loki’s neck, throat, chest...any part of the rich blue skin he could find, but especially the god’s neck, where he could feel those primal vibrations course through his lips and fingers at his ministrations.

“Gods of Asgard, you’re beautiful…” Tony muttered, pausing for a moment to look at him, and Loki’s blue cheeks turned a dark violet, his breathing ragged from pleasure. The inventor returned to his delicious work with a smirk, and upped the anti by gently nipping and licking all the way down the length of one of the larger markings that trailed Loki’s side down to his inner thigh, and Loki began to squirm and whimper once again. From his current position, he of course now noted just how big Loki’s erection was in this form…damn...he wondered if he could ever convince Loki to take him like this. He shivered at the thought. What would it be like to be fucked with an ice cold…he wasn’t sure if that would be okay feeling or not, but gods, he wanted all of Loki. But that was something for another time.

Finally, after teasing Loki to the point where he could sense Loki’s frustration and hunger over their bond, he deemed Loki prepared. He pressed in the tight space reserved solely for him, the god sighing breathily at the now-familiar intrusion, his eyes fluttering shut, and Tony was immediately overwhelmed with the sheer heat enveloping him in contrast to the cold against his thighs. It was the strangest feeling, like he was halfway between an ice bath and a hot tub, and it was torture...the best kind. Loki’s internal heat was overwhelming him, and his skin gave Tony goose bumps. He shivered, half from the cold, and half from the intense contrast of feeling.

Loki cracked open his eyes when Tony slipped his hand behind the god’s head and pressed soft kisses to his lips. The Jotunn’s blood-red orbs gazed up at him, mostly dark now from lust and full of vulnerability and love. He felt as though his heart pounding behind his arc reactor was going to beat right out of his chest. He couldn’t believe Loki was letting him do this, allowing him to claim him in his most vulnerable state. As it was, he gathered Loki up in his arms, and picked up the pace. The inventor leaned over his alien soul mate, breathing heavily now, and the god tilted his head back to expose his neck, moaning at Tony’s every move. His warm breath steamed against Loki’s cool skin, and the god ran his fingers through Tony’s hair, pulling him closer.

His next drive hit home and Loki threw his head back, crying out in pleasure, icy fingers stuttering for a grip on his shoulder. Tony teased Loki a bit more before hitting his prostate again, and Loki whimpered beneath him. Tony realized all of a sudden that he had forgotten entirely about Loki’s erection. He wondered, with a wicked internal smirk, if the gorgeous creature beneath him even needed to be touched tonight. That would be like a filthy fantasy come true…and given his lost cries, he was close.

“You going to come for me, beautiful? Without me even touching you?” Tony whispered against Loki’s neck, biting at the raised lines, and holding nothing back, and Loki squirmed at every nip at what Tony realized was highly sensitive skin and every thrust into his delicious heat.

“F...fuck…yes…..A-Anthony…” Loki moaned, and with a shuddering cry he released between them, burning hot liquid splashing onto Tony’s stomach in that sensual and dirty way that the former womanizer had found he truly enjoyed. It had been a strange feeling at first, but now...now it just added to the pleasure of it all, knowing that he had made Loki feel so good, just as he was finding his own release. The god clenched around Tony’s length, little breathy ‘ah’s issuing from his lips, still orgasming even as Tony pounded into his over-sensitive flesh with a new fury, and after a few more thrusts, Tony slowed and spilled his essence into his lover’s true form to seal the deal.

Loki went lax in his arms, no longer tense and stressed, a lazy smile on his face as Tony slipped out of him and fell off to the side with a sigh, feeling the tingle of Loki’s magic cleaning up their mess. Loki laid his head on his stomach, shutting his eyes and Tony felt a surge of happiness that the god seemed to be accepting himself. He didn’t try to shift back, shockingly enough, so Tony pulled him close to his chest after a few minutes and pulled up the covers, though he only pulled up the sheet on Loki’s side. No sense in overheating his living popsicle. Well, he wasn’t exactly sure he knew how it worked, but he was assuming. He smiled to himself, wondering if Loki even remembered that he was still blue in his lazy stupor, absentmindedly rubbing circles on Loki’s stomach and feeling the tiny, but slowly growing bump where the not-quite-male god carried his child. Their child. Their beautiful baby girl.

“She’s not moving as much as normal,” Tony noted, and Loki chuckled, “Yes, I’ve heard that sex is relaxing, even for a child still in the womb.”

“Endorphins are a magical thing. I take that to mean that we should do this more often,” Tony smiled, shifting to caressing the firm outline of Loki’s hips.

“With me as a…um” Loki didn’t finish his sentence. He had tensed against Tony, apparently remembering just then.

“Jotunn, Lokes, don’t be afraid to say what you are. Who you are.”

Silence. Tony sighed, “I uh...I enjoyed this, a lot. And I think it’s safe to say that you did too, right?”

“Yes…it was good, but…”

“Did you know that you were sensitive on the marks?”

“Not...not before now, no,” Loki whispered, falling silent.

“Did you not like it? Was I hurting you?” Tony asked, worried that he had gone too far with the biting.

“No, no. It was incredible. I’m not sure what to think, but I loved every moment of it, Anthony. Please do not think that I didn’t enjoy it.”

Silence again. There was no voice over their bond, like Loki normally did when he was tired of speaking aloud. Just silence. Terrifying silence.

“Damn,” he murmured again as they lay in each other’s arms, and tracing the markings lovingly, “I guess I’ll have to make use of those markings while I can then, right? I’ll leave it up to you babe. You’re sexy when you’re whimpering though, you know that?”

He was trying to remedy whatever he had done to upset his lover, trying to insert a filler into a conversation turned awkward, so imagine his relief when Loki laughed weakly, “If you say so.”

“I do say so. You can really pull off the bottom. Me, I just turn into a highly-unattractive, slobbering mess.”

“Hmm,” Loki said, “I don’t know about that. I find you very much attractive when you are a mess.”

Tony snorted. They lay this way for a while, Loki pressed to Tony’s chest, at least until Tony’s teeth started chattering and his nipples began to go numb, but Tony couldn’t be happier. Endorphins were a powerful thing indeed.

“You are cold,” Loki whispered after a long while, and Tony snorted quietly, “Currently, I’m more frozen than Capsicle, but whatever.”

“I should turn back then?”

“No, babe, don’t. I like you this way,” Tony reassured him, “How about you do the cuddling and I get some layers?”

Loki smiled weakly in return, bundling him in blankets and cuddling him until both drifted into a deep sleep.


	22. The Thunderer Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor arrives on Midgard in all his...glory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have begun posting chapters on my accompanying Stucky fanfic! It serves as Steve's backstory, and will continue on into this story from Steve's POV. Hope you enjoy!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/23690971/chapters/56879518

_—==Monday, October 8th_ _—_ _Monday, November 5th==—_

Loki’s belly really started expanding early in the fifth month of pregnancy. It was a bit surprising, given that humans usually didn’t expand until the last two months, but apparently Loki had less space in there due to several extra or larger organs.

Tony grinned, poking his lover’s swelled stomach gently, and feeling their baby girl’s tiny kicks in response. Loki clasped his hand and Tony held him close, almost scared to let go. Damn it, Anthony Edward Stark. When the hell did you become so sentimental and clingy? Where was Tony the invincible and emotionless, Tony the Iron Man? Ugh, screw that Tony to Helheim, actually. He was Tony Stark in love and he was proud of it.

“How are we going to hide you from Thor?” he murmured, and Loki sighed, “We may not be able to.”

It was mid-fifth month of Loki’s pregnancy when Bruce called Tony, finally agreeing to stay in the tower. Not that he needed more people to hide his pregnant husband from, especially considering Banner’s alter ego, but he kind of missed the guy, and the Avengers weren’t complete without the Hulk.

“Your friend is welcome here! He is the one that freed me from the mind control, albeit in a quite painful way. And it’s less than a month now,” Loki smiled, and then sighed again, “We’re going to have to tell the others.”

“You sure? You may have early birth…” Tony suggested hopefully, “’Course, it won’t matter whether we get caught with the baby in you, or out of you.”

“If we are caught,” Loki smirked.

“That’s the attitude,” Tony grinned back, running his hand through Loki’s silky hair and admiring his get-up. Loki had taken the time to design himself and Tony outfits he deemed suitable for an Asgardian wedding, so that if discovered and attacked, they could claim protection by the strange laws of Asgardian marriage and childbirth, and flee Earth. Loki had taken to wearing his outfit ever since Tony said he liked it, though frankly it made him look like a Lord of the Rings elf.

“A what?” Loki had asked, and so he had him read the books. Then they had an LOTR movie marathon, and Loki agreed that he indeed looked like one of the elves. He also insisted that the books were just as good as the movies, if not better.

“Whatever,” Tony said, “They’re impossible to read. I would rather read almost anything else.”

“ That’s because you have the attention span of a gnat.” Tony held in a laugh. There was another one. He had recently asked Jarvis look back through footage and keep track of any new times Loki tried out a ‘Midgardian phrase,’ just for kicks, and the AI was up to at least 72 incidents and counting. Giving the super-genius trickster god a book of Earth idioms was the worst mistake of his life, as Loki had apparently taken it upon himself to memorize and use each and every phrase known to mankind. Just last week when he interrupted Loki reading _War and Peace_ , the demigod had told him to “go eat your pants”, to which Tony reminded him that the correct phrase was “eat my pants.”

“No, I am very sure that I meant the other. I quite like these trousers, thank you,” Loki had fired back, and then had thrown a nearby book at him for good measure.

“Try reading a thousand page tome about Seiðr in ancient Jotunnheim, written in barely readable print and in a slang-like mixture of three archaic languages, and then tell me which you would prefer to read,” Loki responded today.

“Yeah, never mind, I think I’ll stick to Tolkien.” Tony rolled his eyes, a smile still on his face as he was yanked from the still-recent memory. He was such a sappy fool. Oh well.

Bruce arrived at the tower a few days later, grumbling about the turbulence on the plane he took, “If they knew who I was, they would have been more careful flying that thing. The landing was terrible.”

“You know, I would have sent a Quinjet to come pick you up,” Tony snorted.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t want you knowing where my house was.”

“Bruce, I already know where your ‘house’ is, if you can even call it that. I think that thing didn’t even classify as a hut.”

“That’s...not creepy at all...Can’t you just leave a guy alone? I mean, how did you even find me out there in Kenya?”

“I’m Tony Stark. Being annoying and all-knowing is my job.”

“You’ve got that right.”

It was early sixth month when they got the call from SHIELD.

Thor was back.

They got lucky though; the God of Thunder was in London for an entire week, catching up with his girlfriend Jane.

When Thor showed up a few days later, the first thing he said was, “Greetings, son of Stark. Odd...the aura in this place is strange. Something feels...wrong.”

Tony pretended like he hadn’t heard, even though Thor was so consistently loud you could never _not_ hear the guy.

“Hey, Point Break, how’s it hanging up in Ass-gard?”

“How is what hanging?” Thor asked. Tony smiled in malicious glee. Oh, he knew what he was going to do now. Thor was going to regret his words, yes indeed.

“Your hammer, I guess.” Tony answered with a shrug.

Thor didn’t even get it, all the better. He sighed, “My hammer does not _hang_ , man of iron, that is not what the leather loop is intended for, if that is what you are trying to ask. Have you ever seen it dangling anywhere?” He let out a huff, “Is this your form of greeting? No hello?”

Clint and Nat cracked up laughing. Steve shook his head, smiling even while trying to frown in disapproval. Wow, even the naïve super soldier got the joke.

“So, you always got it up, no wonder, if you like using bondage. You tie up Jane a lot? Or, is it the other way around?” Tony tried and failed to remain straight-faced, waggling his eyebrows evilly.

Clint was practically howling now and laughed all the harder at Thor’s confused, embarrassed expression.

“I do not understand how my hammer has anything to do with Jane, and bondage?”

“Oh, it has everything to do with her, you know she likes it,” Tony sniggered.

“She does? I know she has asked to do research on it before, but she seemed more interested with the workings of the Bifrost than…”

“Man, you have got to get some confidence. Of course she does. Take control of your woman.”

“I still do not understand, and your friends laugh. Is this some sort of jest?”

Nat finally took pity on the ignorant god, “Thor, he’s not talking about Mjölnir, he’s talking about your genitals.”

Thor went red, “Oh! Oh…Of course he is... I um...feel a fool now.”

Tony cackled at his expense. _That’s what you get for being a bad brother_ , he thought. Revenge is sweet!

He sort of ‘sent’ the images he was getting of a red-faced Thor and the entirety of the conversation to Loki in his thoughts, and he could almost _taste_ Loki’s laughter from where he was resting on Tony’s bed. His pregnant husband had been getting worn-out so easily lately, so much so that he put on his clothes manually instead of magically most of the time now.

Thor kept muttering to himself the next few days, and Tony knew he was onto them; he wasn’t quite as stupid as he seemed some days, like the day he ate two whole boxes of strawberry pop-tarts, and the day he fried the microwave because he stuck not one, but _three_ metal forks in it and left the corn he was trying to cook in there for over ten minutes.

“How was I supposed to know that metal objects could produce lightning in a tiny wave?!” Thor cried. “I was trying to eat the corn the Midgardian way, as you showed me.”

“One, you don’t use forks to hold corn, two, you put the corn-holders in after you cook the corn, and three, a tiny wave? Did you seriously just call…”

“It is a micro-wave correct? A small wave.”

“Oh my Gawd,” Clint guffawed at that. “I was so confused at first. Small wave! Ahaha!”

“You...are an idiot, Thor,” Tony snorted, “MICROWAVE, one word, not tiny wave. Also, it’s not widow of black, or man of iron. Black Widow, Iron Man, stop putting your adjectives after your words, you’re not Spanish.”

“Of course I’m not Spanish, the good Captain does not wear me. Now you are the one saying absurd things.”

“Say What?!” Tony cried.

Steve just shook his head in exasperation from where he was reading the newspaper, and Clint broke up in hiccuping laughter, “Did you just say that Steve doesn’t _wear_ you?”

“ I am so...What? What were you even trying to say?” Tony shook his head. Why the heck would Thor think that Steve wore Spanish-speaking people...oh, never mind. It took a moment to click. Steve had apparently gotten it before him, though Clint was still looking utterly befuddled.

“I thought you said that Steve wears Span-ish,” Thor protested.

“SPANDEX, Point Break, not Spanish.” Tony clarified. The Asgardian was mixing up his words again. “Spanish is a language, Spandex is a stretchy fabric good for accenting Cap's ass.”

He received a glare for that, and grinned cockily at the Captain, who apparently elected to ignore his jab after a moment.

“Oh, my apologies," Thor said, nodding in both their directions.

“He got the first four letters right at least,” Steve chuckled, though without much spirit. He then returned to his newspaper. Sometime, the Captain could be quite lifeless. Polite, yes—he was always polite—but he lacked a certain enthusiasm for living outside of missions and military procedures and housekeeping. Steve on missions and Steve off missions were two very different people.

Loki chuckled at the mental images Tony sent to him.

_Thank you for the laughs._

_No problem._

_I...I think it is time. He’s suspicious, and soon we will have a baby girl to look after._

_You want to reveal yourself?_

There was a long pause, and then…

_Yes._

Then, at a more rapid-fire pace:

_How much should we tell, though?_

_Whatever do you mean? My story?_

_Yes? They need to know. I think they’ll kind of have to understand...I did._

_You are not them. You are not an ordinary mortal._

_For loving you? For seeing that you’re an innocent man, and you deserve the world? Ahem...Not ruling it, I mean, just in a metaphorical sense. I could probably give you quite a bit of the world , though, with the amount of money burning a hole in my pocket, you know. Enough to satisfy any princely urges you might have._

Loki laughed, not offended by his sporadic train of thought, thankfully, _That is quite alright._

And then...

_Just having you shall be enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cue the AWWWW
> 
> Also, Loki and Tony's outfits in case they need to have an impromptu Asgardian wedding are based on this fanart by the most amazing Artmetica. They outfits are almost identical to how they showed up in the dream. Did I ever mention that I have a partially photographic memory?  
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/15/1a/43/151a43133185c038e584629cbdccd83b.png


	23. The Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is here! The moment we've all been waiting for! Will it go as planned?

_—==Wednesday, November 7th==—_

Tony gave Loki two more days to make up his mind. On the third day, he quietly entered into the Avengers living space and sat down at the bar counter purposefully. He felt a bit safer, having a slab of rock between him and a raging Hulk. He could only pray that if Banner Hulked-out, Fenris’s emergency calming spell could cool him down.

“Hey,” he said loudly. They looked up, and it was worse than a crowd of a million people staring at him. He fidgeted nervously, running his hand through his hair, “So, uh, I’ve got an announcement.”

They nodded, waiting politely for him to continue.

_You can do it Tony. Be calm. I will be fine, you will be fine. Okay?_

_Okay._

He swallowed, “I uh, haven’t been entirely honest with you lately.”

“How so?” Thor asked, frowning.

“I can’t continue like this, hiding everything from you guys when I consider you my friends, so I’ve decided to come clean.”

“Get to the point,” Nat prodded, knowing him well enough that she knew when he was avoiding getting to the topic. Of course she knew him that well—she had only been doing a top-secret case study on him while disguised as his personal assistant—and now she could apparently read him like a book. The freaking triple impostor...

“You know,” he sighed, “And so does Clint. Or rather, you knew.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, T-bone, sorry,” Clint snorted, “My memory is kind of bad though.”

“What I’m trying to say is that I uh, I’m not giving up sex for a year like I said.”

 _‘Tis a start,_ Loki thought.

“Really? We didn’t know, we definitely didn’t notice the hickies you’ve been regularly acquiring,” Nat deadpanned, earning a snort from Clint, “Is that all, Stark?”

“No, but that’s just it, I didn’t really lie. I said I wouldn’t have sex with prostitutes and random celebrities for a year, and I haven’t broken that promise. Hell, I’m never going to break that promise,” he said, gulping, “The thing is, well, I’m a married man.”

Steve dropped the newspaper he was reading into his pancakes and syrup. Clint lowered his glass of orange juice with an embarrassed look, after having spewed what he had in his mouth all over the table, and Thor just grinned, booming, “Oh, you must be so happy then! Congratulations! Who is the lucky bride?!”

“Not who you think,” Tony muttered.

“Is it Pepper?” Steve asked hopefully, carefully extracting his paper from his food and dumping the syrupy mess into the trash with a sigh.

“Did I not just say it’s not who you think?”

“Well yes I know she’s dating Mr. Hogan now, so I figured that would be sort of unexpected, ” Steve muttered, “Sorry, I’m really bad with relationships.”

“Don’t be sorry, wouldn’t expect a ninety-year-old virgin to understand such matters, and for that matter, don’t even bother guessing, ’cause you’ll never get it right,” Tony chuckled weakly, “Because not even I knew I was that kind of guy, until I met...well, him.”

“Wait...what?!” Steve cried, immediately looking horrified.

“Yes, yes, Mr. Goody two-shoes from the ‘40s can’t handle gays. I get it,” Tony muttered, “Quit freaking.”

“It’s surprising, but I’m not freaking,” Clint said, nodding to himself, “I _think._ Just never knew you could roll that way.”

“Isn’t it illegal?!” Steve cried, and Thor just stared.

“Yeah, well it’s legal now, get with the times,” Tony shrugged.

“Who is this guy?” Clint asked, “Who the hell did you marry?”

Tony took a deep breath and stood up. He was ready now.

“I married the love of my life,” he declared, “And his name is Loki.” He bit his lip and exhaled through his nose.

Silence.

Walking around the bar of the counter, he said it again, loud and proud, “Just so you know you heard me right, I did say Loki. I know what he did, I know what the SHIELD mandate is, but I don’t particularly care. He’s not a villain, and he doesn’t deserve to be punished or imprisoned.”

He finally finished, crossing his arms and glaring at them, daring them to object. They stared at him in shocked horror.

“Doesn’t…are you...” Clint started, and the hurt, angry, and close-minded look on his face was already making Tony’s blood boil. He knew exactly what that look meant, the look that was quickly forming on each of the Avengers’ faces. They weren’t even going to try to hear him out. Could these guys seriously not get their heads out of their asses for long enough to listen?

“Listen up. Let me get this clear, before I go any further. Rock of Ages is under my protection, and he’s staying here with me, and screw anyone who objects, because they can just get their sorry asses out of my tower.” Tony stated, and then took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he snapped at the group.

More staring.

 _Wonderfully done, Tony,_ came Loki’s sarcastic voice in his head, _You have just fried all of their brain cells. Honestly, I think I could have handled it better myself whilst they attacked me._

“Whaaaaa….” was the sound coming out of Thor, and Natasha and Clint winced simultaneously, touching their heads, and then gaped some more.

“The shit?!” Clint cried, eyes flaring angrily, “We caught you months ago, and Loki fucking brainwashed us so we wouldn’t remember!”

“You Traitorous. Son. Of. A. _Bitch_.” Natasha spat, and Tony glared right back at them, ignoring Loki’s annoyed comments in his head, “You were going to _kill_ him. We did what we had to do.”

“You...my brother,” Thor looked between Tony and the fuming Nat, and back at Tony again, shell-shocked.

He saw all their minds furiously spinning, and Steve was muttering something under his breath that Tony didn’t particularly want to hear.

Steve finally choked out, “Stark, what were you thinking?

“I’m thinking that…” Tony started.

“No, you’re really not. He needs to be contained. He’s a psychopath, and he’s playing you...if you’re even capable of thinking on your own,” Natasha spat. Oh great, now they thought he was mind controlled.

“Where is he hiding?” Natasha demanded.

“Man of Iron,” Thor yelled at his face, as if Tony could not hear him or was very far away, “Are you in there?”

“Maybe hit him upside the head?” Clint suggested, lifting his bow, as though considering whether the metal contraption was a suitable object for that purpose.

“I will find Loki and make him relinquish his control over the Man of Iron,” Thor declared, “I knew I sensed something akin to his presence in this abode. He will be taken to Asgard and properly contained this time.”

“No, goddamnit, I’m not being mind controlled. Do my eyes look blue to you? Put your goddamn bow down, Barton. S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t getting Loki and Thor sure as hell isn’t taking him back to Asgard.”

“The hell we’re not. He’s a war criminal and he knew better than to come back to Earth,” Steve said. Tony looked up, remembering that he was supposed to be watching Banner, but the doctor was thankfully curled up on a couch, a pillow over his head to try to drown out the sound of the heated argument and doing his best not to Hulk-out from the tension in the room. Tony couldn’t help but be grateful for that kindness at least. A raging Hulk wouldn’t exactly be helpful in settling matters in this situation.

Tony glared daggers at Steve for his latest comment, “Then you’re going to have to go through me. Loki’s MINE now, so keep your hands off. I don’t like it when people touch my stuff. He’s not who le…”

“If you’re not mind controlled like you say,” Clint spat, “Then what the hell is wrong with you?”

“Loki is all I could ever ask for in a guy,” Tony cut in loudly before anyone else could cut him off, “He’s innocent, brave, intelligent, witty, not to mention _magical_ , and oh, did I mention he’s INNOCENT?! I tried to tell you then, but you refused to listen. Will you just let me get in two words so I can explain?”

“Fine, then explain, Stark,” Natasha huffed, “But I doubt you’ll say anything different than last time.”

“Actually, even back then I didn’t know everything that I know now. I’ve learned a lot about Thor’s brother, including some things he hasn’t told anyone else.”

Thor was staring at him with an mixed expression of confusion, shock, anger, and pity, “I know not what all he has told you, Man of Iron, but you are likely being deceived. I wish I could believe your depiction of him, but I fear you fall for the same lies he once led me astray with.” Just that by itself was enough to make Tony’s blood boil with rage.

“I know his life story now, and he would never purposefully hurt someone good,” Tony ignored the Thunderer, spitting out his words, “He’s not who I thought he was, who we thought he was. You’re wrong.”

“No, he only killed over a thousand people and took over my fucking mind! What the hell is wrong with you, Stark?” Clint cried, “And you really believe stuff coming from the mouth of the god of _lies_? Come on, man. I thought you were smarter than that. I was willing to give you a chance back then…”

“But then you betrayed us,” Natasha flat-out said, “Stark’s not being mind-controlled. He doesn't look like Barton under mind control. He’s fraternizing with the enemy, and all because of a little attraction, isn’t that right, Stark?”

Thor growled at the word ‘attraction’, apparently still focused on that little issue, “You cannot possibly mean...there is no way they have married. It must be a lie. He is not right in the mind. Neither of them would submit to such degradation.”

“I don’t think there’s much that Stark wouldn’t stick his dick in, if it looked good enough” Natasha muttered, and Tony growled in annoyance. Once upon a time, maybe, but not now. And this had nothing to do with his soul-mate’s sexual appeal. In regards to Thor, Tony was about to stab the ignorant God of Thunder, honestly.

“I would still defend him, even without that,” Tony insisted to Natasha, doing his best to ignore Thor’s blatant slandering of his soul-mate’s sexuality...and his own, “Because he’s not the villain here.”

“Damn it,” Clint said, looking distraught all of a sudden, “Why would you believe that line of B.S. he’s feeding you? Tony, come on. I thought you were a friend, but I guess I should be reconsidering now, even though I really don’t _want_ to.”

“Don’t then. I still consider you, all of you, as friends. And he didn’t just tell me,” Tony sighed, realizing how worked up he had gotten. Loki was right, as usual. This approach wasn’t going to work, “I saw for myself. Felt it for myself. Here’s a guess the blank for you that only Thor will recognize. The legend of the unnamed elf and æsir, who were the first this in a few millennia.”

“No...it cannot be,” Thor whispered, eyes widening and angry countenance melting off his face like a spell had suddenly fallen over him. The others fell silent and looked at the Thunderer inquisitively as his jaw went slack, “You are…”

“One hundred percent meant for each other? Yes. Absolutely.”

Thor froze for a moment, evidently processing. A bewildered expression came over his face, “But you are not…you are... both male.”

“Love is love, Thor,” Tony answered harshly, “And magic doesn’t exactly care about gender.”

“But…okay. So you…if…if it is...,” Thor muttered to himself. He took a deep, shaky breath, and then suddenly, quite unexpectedly, a smile overtook his features and he burst into joyous laughter, loud and unrestrained, “Then I have made a mistake.”

“What?” Clint asked, about as dumbfounded as Tony as of right now.

“Do what you will!” Thor cried, throwing down his hammer, “I will not object. By the Norns, you are the luckiest man alive! And...if it is true that you are indeed soul-mates, then you have a chance that not even I could have.”

“Soul-mates? Get out,” Clint stuttered, “You cannot be serious right now.”

Thor continued without acknowledging Clint, meeting Tony’s eyes with a near-desperate look, “You could save my brother from himself. He is beyond reason for me and even for Mother, but perhaps I was wrong, perhaps there is still hope for him. For we have not yet tried to reach him with a soul-mate.”

“I think we’ve both saved each other already, Point Break,” Tony said with confidence, “And he’s not beyond reason. He’s willing to talk.”

Tony looked around at the group, trying to judge where they were right now. He noticed that Bruce was sitting up on the couch now, watching with a puzzled expression. He flashed his favorite science bro a weak smile and a thumbs up for keeping in the Big Guy.

Tony glanced back up at Thor, who was smiling broadly now. He thumped Tony’s back, and now that he was a god, it didn’t hurt, “I am sorry for not trusting your judgment from the first, son of Stark. I know you to be a good man. I still cannot believe how fortunate you both are to have met one another!”

“I know. Must’ve been fate, right?” Tony grinned, and then casually thumped Thor right back, catching him so off guard that the demigod nearly fell over.

“You...how did you do that?” Thor murmured, “’Tis impossible. You do not wear your iron suit, yet your strength…”

“Loki’s got some contacts in _low_ places,” Tony smirked, “Let’s just say that we’ve had an immortality apple or two.”

He picked up the heavy metal barstool with one hand and lifted it above his head with ease, grinning at them, “Tony Stark, god of billionaires and hot badasses. Yep, that sounds good to me!”

Natasha huffed, and rolled her eyes, seemingly calmed down a bit, though both her and the rest of the team looked like they were having some serious internal debates now that Thor had suddenly jumped over to Tony’s side.

“Show-off,” came a quiet voice from the hall, and when he looked over, Loki was standing there, in his ‘elven’ robes, altered to fit his bulging belly, smiling quietly at Tony, and Tony’s heart melted, just like it did every time he saw his mate. He put down the chair, certain he was projecting his feeling of embarrassment over their bond. The hell was wrong with him, acting like an idiot? Again. This was important, really important, and he was treating it like a game. Oops, they’re not taking it well because I started off way, way too aggressively. Here, let me pick up this chair and show off my new god muscles. Gods, what a moron he was. Never say that Tony Stark didn’t know how to avoid the subject at hand.

This wasn’t about him. It was about Loki. His Loki, who he might have to protect from the might of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. if he didn’t do this right. At least Thor was on their side, right? But the others...not so much, from their current expressions.

He didn’t even want to meet Loki’s eye, but the god smiled at him reassuringly and flashed a cocky wink.

_Relax. You are attempting to soothe your nerves through humor. ‘Tis not the best way to go about things, granted, but still, you have by no means ruined everything yet. Well done telling Thor about the soul-mate hitch. I knew he would have heard of it, but I was not expecting such a dramatic reaction…_

Tony looked nervously at the others. The whole room was frozen for an instant, and then Clint had his bow out, “I don’t know what the hell Thor’s thinking, but I’m not letting fat Legolas here get away with murder.”

“Yeah, well you’ll have to deal with that. Also, he can’t be Legolas, that nickname’s already taken, so maybe Arwen?… and fat?” Tony glared playfully and let out a short, awkward laugh, “Objection. I’ll forgive you for that one, but just this once.”

“Wonderful save, darling. I am flattered, truly. But what _do_ you call this then?” Loki gestured to his stomach, playing along apparently. Tony did have to quirk a smile at that.

“Temporary bloating of the abdominal region,” Tony shrugged, “Also referred to as pregnancy.”

Clint’s arrow dipped dramatically, “Excuse me?!”

“WHAT?!” Thor screeched, voice at least two octaves higher than normal, “That...That is not possible!” he looked around, befuddled, “Is it?”

“He’s due in a few months,” Tony grinned, “It’s a she by the way.”

“We still have not decided on a name,” Loki said.

“I still haven’t made a room for her.”

“We ought to get started then,” Loki said, “Day after tomorrow?”

“If we live until then,” Tony jested weakly, looking over at the once again shell-shocked Avengers.

“Brother, you...you’re...how?!”

“I am a unique breed of Jotunn, Thor, capable of impregnating and being impregnated. My race…no longer exists, but, we, ah, _evolved_ due to a lack of females in Jotunnheimr. This isn’t my first time either...though for a completely different reason unrelated to my, ah, questionable gender, ” Loki explained with some difficulty.

“Isn’t your first…holy shit!” Steve cussed, surprising everyone.

“Language, Cap,” Tony scolded, and the Captain rolled his eyes, shaking his head in amazement.

“What do you mean by this, brother?” Thor asked.

“What he’s trying to say is that he came with baggage. He’s got kids, Thor, and not just a couple either. One of them, the one he gave birth to...Loki, you okay with me telling?”

“Yes,” Loki murmured, happy eyes now turning dark. Crap, this was not what he intended at all.

“Well, the one he gave birth to was his firstborn son, and he was impregnated due to rape,” Tony said quietly, at which Thor swelled up with anger almost immediately, “And the rest were with a woman he loved enough to look past her differences when he found out she was Jotunn, and how he found out originally that he was not æsir as well.”

“What?” Thor balked, “No, that cannot be right. He found out he was...not of Asgard...when we went to…”

“No, Thor. I already knew,” Loki whispered sadly, “It was all a façade to hide what I was truly trying to accomplish: saving my near-extinct breed from the oppression of Laufey’s Regime.”

“I...I have nothing to say. I truly thought that you were trying to destroy their entire planet.”

Loki shook his head emphatically, “No...no, I swear that was not my intention. Amora and her family lived in hiding, in fear, and Laufey had found them but a day earlier. He was rallying his soldiers to make an assault on helpless, innocent Argrs, in hiding for centuries merely because they were ‘unmanly’ and wielded magic. I could not merely stand by and watch my wife’s family die, but I knew that Father would support Laufey. He always had… He knew. I know he had to have known about the Argrs in hiding, but he did nothing…” Loki’s voice broke, “And I could not do it alone. I could not save…”

“Not your fault, babe,” Tony interjected, “The blame is Thor’s to bear. You did everything you could.”

“I did not protect what meant the most to me at the time,” Loki snapped, eyes wet, “You know I could have, but I let my emotions get the best of me. In trying to save her family, I…”

“Not I!” Tony interrupted, “Damn it, it wasn’t your fault!” he turned to Thor, knowing for sure that he had hot anger flashing in his eyes as of right now.

Thor looked both ashamed and affronted, and the Avengers were looking at him in pure shock. No wonder, since the God of Thunder had never been so vocal, so outright and honest and emotional before. He had never defended anyone other than himself, and his brother for but a brief moment before their fight. And then he had been quick to switch his defense to “He’s adopted” as soon as he found out that Loki had taken lives. Hypocrite.

“I am sorry, brother, I knew not that there were so many lives at stake...if only you would have told me...I would have helped you!” Thor whispered.

“I know you would have,” Loki sobbed, “I know you had no intention of harm, you never have.”

“But you bring harm nonetheless,” Tony snapped. “I don’t blame Lokes at all for not wanting to be your brother, Thor, after all you’ve done to the poor guy…” Tony realized afterward how harsh that sounded. The Thunder God seemed to be trying. Loki was now giving him hell in his mind. Still, Thor had made many mistakes, and if Tony were his brother, he wouldn’t easily forgive the idiot of a man.

“I truly did not mean to…I truly did not understand what was happening,” Thor looked hurt and confused, and Tony was somewhat regretting his words, but there was no turning back now, “Loki, I would have stood by your side in the fight, whatever it was. I swear, I would have. I was trying to save the Jotunns, not allow them to be hurt. I would have protected your wife’s kin as my own, but I didn’t even know you had a wife, or that there were different sects of Jotunns, or that your wife’s family...wife…..” Thor frowned suddenly, freezing in place and eyes widening a little.

“If you are with Anthony…”

Ignoring Loki’s protests, Tony spat, “Yeah, you’ve finally figured it out. You did more than indirectly doom his race to extinction, Thor. You also killed his wife, with your own hands. His children’s mother.”

“I...I…No…NO…” Thor whispered, horrified, “Oh Norns, I don’t...I am… I don’t understand. I never even saw a woman but my mother and Sif and some Midgardian women...mainly Jane and Darcy...that day...I, how?!”

“Forgive Anthony for his forwardness, I would have told you myself, but it seems I was beaten to it,” Tony received a pointed glare, and after a long, exhale, Loki whispered, “I...she was...um…” Loki started breaking up, and Tony instinctively gripped his shoulders, trying to infuse him with a calmness that he couldn’t even achieve for himself, “Hey, I’m here, I’m here. You don’t have to talk about it yet if you don’t want to…”

“No, I...I need to explain...Just let me show you the memories. It would be simpler,” Loki exhaled, finally breathing again. He waved a hand idly and swirling green mist enveloped them. Suddenly, they were watching Loki kissing his wife. Then it fast-forwarded to Argr Jotunns fleeing from the cruel spears of Laufey’s soldiers as their hiding place was raided, as men, women, and children alike were slaughtered mercilessly, to Loki unleashing the full force of the Bifrost on the Jotunn court, directing magical energy with a tree of ice, then to Thor and Loki on the Bifrost bridge, watching a larger-than-life Thor bang away at the crystal. Loki lunged at him, and Amora Angrboda reached for him in the background, soundlessly screaming, “LOKI! GET BACK! IT IS NOT SAFE!”

Loki glanced back for a millisecond, and then the explosion of light and color blasted him and Thor off the Bifrost as it shattered. Shards of deadly glass flew in every direction, and Thor inhaled sharply. They watched with open mouths as Loki relived his memory, tears slipping down his cheeks, watching as his wife died in front of him for a third time, the glass piercing her heart and her mouth opening in a final cry of shock. The memory Loki didn’t cry, just watched Amora’s legs slip out from under her in a trancelike stupor, said meaningless words to Thor and Odin about how he ‘could have done it,’ and plummeted down after his wife as she toppled from the Bifrost. He caught up with her, clutching her already lifeless body to his chest and screaming in agony, his breath whooshing out into the vacuum of space, and his Jotunn form emerging at the immense cold. Tears streamed down his face now, instantly freezing and breaking off into sparkling crystal that was too beautiful for such a painful moment, and Amora’s body faded away, leaving him clutching the bloodied shard of crystal, freezing stiff and floating through space, somehow living without air, suffering physically and mentally, for _days._ The memory ended with the breaking of the shard, the brutal torture of Loki, and the invasion of Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo-wee, that was a lot! What will the Avengers think of all they have just seen?


	24. Forgiven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I am not dead!

The vision faded and they were back in the tower, staggering from the emotional force of the memory.

Loki shuddered, the once-conqueror curled up in a ball and rocking back and forth, and Tony wrapped his arms around him, loose enough that it wasn’t restraining, but with a firm enough pressure to be an anchor, and the god stilled after one last repulsed shudder, “You’re safe, Lokes, baby, come back. It’s not real anymore. He’ll never get you again. Ever.”

A sob broke the silence, and Tony looked up to a scene he never thought he would see.

Clint and Steve looked ashamed, heads bowed, and Bruce was fighting to keep down the Hulk once again. Nat showed little emotion as usual, but still looked grim and disturbed.

Thor, the God of Thunder, was crying.

Not just a little, either. He was sobbing like an overgrown toddler.

Fat tears streaming from his eyes like the rain that often began upon his arrival, he approached Loki, “I am truly sorry for what I have unknowingly done to you, brother. I know now that you can never forgive me, but I am sorry nonetheless.” Loki moved, and Thor flinched, as if he were expecting to be hit.

“You’re wrong about a lot of things, and this would be one of them,” Loki shook his head, catching Thor’s arm as he tried to turn away, “I can forgive you...I already have, you ignorant oaf of a Asgardian.”

Loki wrapped his arms around a startled Thor, causing him to burst into tears all over again.

“You...You truly need not envy me and my companions, for you have what none of us possesses…” Thor whispered, stepping back and holding Loki’s shoulders as he looked him in the eyes with...with admiration. This was a completely new side of Thor that Tony had never seen before. First crying, and now respect?

“And what is that?” Loki asked.

“Forgiveness. Gentleness and grace, unheard of in Asgard, and they shunned you for it, I suppose, because they failed to understand. You are truly Frigga’s son!” Thor cried.

“As she is my mother, and you my brother,” Loki said quietly.

Steve walked over once Thor was finished hugging Loki to death, nodding his head shamefully, “We were wrong about you. I’m sorry. We should have seen the signs that you were just another victim...but we were too focusing on winning, defeating the bad guy. We wanted you to be the end of the chain too much to see that you were not really in control. And then we wouldn’t believe our own teammate when he was trying to show us the truth.”

“It is quite alright. I tried to alert you to my predicament, but I would not blame any of you for missing those few minute hints I was able to give. It wasn’t exactly easy to slip anything past his control, and it would have been a stretch to ever think you would have caught them.”

“I should have seen them,” Thor looked like he was going to start crying again still, “Perhaps if I...if I knew my little brother at all, I would have seen that something was amiss.”

“You had an inkling that something was off, did you not?”

“But I did not even notice that your eyes were of a different color. I did not recognize the difference between your words and those of someone speaking through you. I let you be thrown into the dungeons for actions that were not your own.”

“It was nothing Thor. The living arrangement they placed me in could hardly be called a cell. I believe that Frig…” Loki grinned, and corrected himself, “Mother had something to do with that. And you did as well you could given the circumstances. You tried to reason with me. You almost freed me. On the roof, before I stabbed you...You made his grip falter, if only for a second. He would have had me do far worse to you than just stab you with something that was never intended to be a weapon, had you not spoken powerful words to me just a moment before.

Thor smiled, “I was wondering. What even was that thing? A sewing needle? It barely pricked me through my armor...I was stunned it even made through, it was so small. One of the absurdly teeny ones you use to carve runes and keep in your boots?”

Loki smiled back, “Yes, it was actually. You know me well.”

Thor furrowed his brow at that, “No, Loki, I don’t. I don’t even know what your eye color is...”

“They are green, Thor, same as they always have been,” Loki rolled the eyes in question, “No, they are not actually blue, if you were wondering.”

“Are they?” Thor asked, “Are they truly green? All of the time?”

Loki frowned now, “You mean…”

“My point stands. I do not even know what my brother truly looks like. When you let go in the odd, outside-of-body memory…” a deep breath, “I could not bear to watch. The archer said ‘Why is he blue?’ but I looked up too late, and now I still do not know.”

“Nor do you want to know. Please, let us move on from this topic,” Loki hissed, barriers up again. Tony took his hand, rubbing reassuring circles on his palm.

_Don’t freak out Lokes. He’s not trying to be rude._

_I...I know he is not._

_Then why? Why are you afraid of this?_

_Time. Please…I am not ready for this yet. Oh Norns. I cannot explain, I just..._

_Okay, okay. It’s fine. Relax, and don’t worry about it. You show him whenever you feel like it babe._

“I am always too late,” Thor continued, “I always made it to where they said you were too late to catch you…you always disappeared, and I knew not where to go to find you.”

“Perhaps you would have found me more oft if you had ever thought to ask where I frequented.”

“Where? You stopped hiding in your room with your books…I knew not to look for you whenever we had a hunt, and…” Thor paused, “You hated the hunts, didn’t you? You did not enjoy going with us, ever since Father first made you finish what you had started.” Thor looked like he had stunned himself suddenly, “Oh, why am I such a fool? This is my fault. How could I not see that my brother would never lead an invasion, that it was not the same Loki who was too soft...ah...well, too admirably gracious to take the life of a hind that Father’s wolves had hunted down, just because she was with child. And I have just insulted you again. Oh, I am such a fool.”

“You did not insult me, Thor.”

“I called you soft,” Thor protested, “Just like one of the Warriors Three might do...”

“’Tis fine. A slip of the tongue. As they say, old habits die hard,” Loki smiled, patting him on the back, and Tony grinned at Thor’s confused expression, “As who says?”

“What is that now, J? 89?” Tony asked.

“Ninety-one actually,” Jarvis piped up, and Loki’s brows furrowed, “Are you really still keeping track of every time I use a Midgardian expression?”

Tony grinned shamelessly, “Yup. One cannot miss out on the Earthinization of an alien. I mean, really, we ought to be recording everything you say and do, it’s only been a decade or three that we’ve been waiting for solid evidence of the existence of life beyond Earth.”

_Earthinization, Tony? Nice new word there…_

“Not for all of us,” Natasha smirked, “I’ve had occasional Bunco Nights with my fellow agent-not-of-earth for at least that long.”

Clint rolled his eyes, “You know, I still don’t know why I don’t get invited. I’ve known Danvers for far longer than you.”

“It’s a restricted Girl’s Night Out, so let me know when you become a female,” Natasha snipped, “And you hate Bunco.”

“I do not!” Clint protested, “And it’s not like you like it either.”

Loki laughed, “Sounds like to me that someone is denying his true self. I’m afraid that Tony doesn’t like it when people do that.”

“Am not,” Clint snapped, “You think I really want to go listen to a bunch of stoic women...ahem—agents—gossip about the latest spy threads? Come on, I was just kidding around.”

“Yep. Just like you don’t like Legolas at all,” Tony grinned, “Keep pretending, Clint.”

Natasha laughed, really laughed, however brief, and Tony nearly fell off his bar stool.

A few minutes later, the conversation just continuing on in this lighthearted manner, which was admittedly a relief after all of that emotion-packed intensity, Loki actually had a sort of mental breakdown. He looked woozy and he excused himself and went out into the stairwell quietly. Tony chased after him.

“Hey, baby, baby, what’s up?” Tony asked. Loki shuddered, “I don’t know. I feel sick.”

“The usual from the baby, or nerves?”

“I know not,” Loki whispered, “She is kicking quite a bit, but I thought my stomach had gotten used to that by now. It has not been bothering me lately. Not like it used to.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot your anatomy allows her to literally kick you in the stomach. Acid reflux was a bitch for you back then,” Tony noted.

Loki’s anatomy was fascinating, Tony had realized a while back. His heart was in the dead center of his chest, conveniently protected by his defined breastbone. The thumping blue organ was absolutely massive, and there were notches in his lungs to make room for it. The arteries from the heart were way cooler than your typical aorta: they were smaller, and dozens of them splayed out like a web around his heart. The path the blood took through that chaotic mess was unbeknownst to Tony.

The heart was connected to a small pale organ which Loki said was the source of his internal heat. His liver was very odd, flat and shaped like a ’u,’ and residing in the back of his abdominal cavity, hugging around everything else. Instead of two kidneys, he had three very small ones and they were attached to his ‘liver,’ protruding out the bottom like extra growths. Right beneath his lungs and diaphragm was not his stomach, but rather a big blue organ that had stringy connections to the walls and membranes, and Loki said that this was the organ that made his skin ice-cold. The lines on his skin did have a purpose other than being sensitive and great for making his beautiful god come undone...They were what the stuff that Tony could only compare to liquid nitrogen traveled through to make his skin cold. And no, he hadn’t been in any danger of rupturing one of the lines that he realized now were kind of like arteries, Loki had assured him when he had expressed his worries aloud. The actual ducts were far deeper in his dermis, and the raised bumps were just their impression.

As far as his stomach, it was nestled in his intestinal tract in his lower abdomen, so if his belly ever hurt, he could legitimately say he had a ‘stomach’ache. The reason for all this shifting was because of the whopper veined lungs and bubbled, mottled diaphragm that he was sporting. They had to be big: there was less oxygen in the air on Jotunnheim than on Asgard or Earth. Because of this, there simply wasn’t room enough for quite so many intestines as a human, so he supposed they were just more efficient. The womb had swollen to take up space just below and in front of his stomach, hence the baby’s ability to nail him in the organ with deadly precision.

How did Tony know all of this? Well, Loki had finally agreed to let him do scans. Actually, he agreed to a few too many exams for Tony’s liking, wanting to get them all done and over with so he could not have to be in his fully-Jotunn form for long. He was still uncomfortable in it, much to Tony’s exasperation.

Crazily enough, Loki had been entirely unconcerned about the radiation that came along with the x-ray to see his bone structure, which made sense, but it had still given Tony the heebee geebees to stick a pregnant being, be they human, Asgardian, or Jotunn, into the cool metal machine.

Especially when the machine read on the side, “Do not use if you are pregnant or nursing.” Loki had assured him that the radiation was so close to the magic already flowing through her tiny body that she would be fine, but still…

So after that little argument, he had gotten to see his little baby daughter in various types of scans while looking at the strange arrangement and unique organs of his husband’s alien body. He estimated that the little shrimpy-looking thing in his womb was about the size of an bird egg and growing fast. It hadn't looked too much like a baby girl at that point, but he could just make out a tiny face, and scrunched up slits for eyes.

He had made that…and she was growing even more rapidly now. A half-a-month ago, she was big enough to kick her mama in the stomach and give the poor guy acid reflux, and now he could feel her continuing to viciously kick the inside of Loki’s womb like “Let me out!”

“Hey, stop giving your mama hell,” Tony whispered at his stomach, and Loki sighed, “She feels my stress, and it is making her anxious as well.”

“Well then, don’t be stressed,” Tony chided gently, taking a long-fingered hand into his own, “We’ll work this out.”

Loki nodded absentmindedly.

“Should we go back in?” Tony asked, “Or do you need to take a break from today?”

“I am well now. I will go back in,” Loki murmured, looking unsure of himself and what he was saying. He looked lost and frightened.

“Baby, you got this. We’ve got this,” Tony reassured, and gave Loki a chaste kiss on the cheek, “Come on, Bambi.”


	25. Darkest Secrets Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK! Missed me?  
> Buckle in, because things are about to get even crazier than they've been up in the Avengers Tower.

They came back out to an interesting scene. Thor was still sniffling, and was now pathetically attempting to hide it. Clint had his head in his hands, muttering to himself like a possessed man, Natasha was glaring at the wall, and Steve was talking to Banner about something or another in whispered tones.

“We’ve all lost someone, or something,” Banner was saying to the Captain, “You especially.”

The Captain nodded, looking upset, “But that’s not important right now. So has Loki.”

“What is not important?” Loki asked. Steve looked up, barriers up again as he put on his unflinching super-soldier mask. Like he wasn’t in any pain.

“We were talking about losing someone you know well...Seeing your memory of your wife falling sparked, well, a flashback. What you did to try and save her...It’s what I wondered if I should have done almost every day since,” Steve looked apologetically at them, “It’s nothing you need to worry yourselves with...this isn’t about me. It was a long time ago, anyways.”

“Who were they to you?” Loki prompted gently. Steve sighed.

“He was my friend before I went into the ice...”

“And this does not matter? You have been out of the ice for less than a year; the wound is surely still sore,” Loki frowned, sitting down beside Steve. Steve looked shocked. Tony could imagine his confusion at having Loki sit down with him like they were sharing a therapy session. But it worked.

They were all broken, the Avengers.

That’s what made it work.

“I’ve moved on…the past is in the past,” Steve said firmly. He was always putting up barriers like this, cringing away from the past as though the very thought of it haunted him. He rarely smiled, though he was always polite.

“Captain Rogers,” Loki chided, “I can tell when people are lying, you know…Was he was your brother? Friend?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Steve countered. Loki raised his eyebrows. Steve gave a reluctant sigh.

“Yes, he was my brother, in a sense,” Steve finally murmured, gaze suddenly distant like he was reliving a memory.

“He died, I presume?” Loki asked.

“Yeah. Protecting me.”

“How and when specifically did he die?” Loki prodded, eyes almost visibly lighting up. Tony grinned. He knew where this was going...and oh did he like it. This could work out perfectly...

“He fell off a train high in the mountains, almost 70 years ago. It was a couple days before I went into the ice,” Steve whispered, “Why does it matter?”

“Believe me, it matters,” Tony said.

“What was his full name?” Loki asked.

“James Buchanan Barnes,” Steve said.

Loki shut his eyes, and Tony’s grin widened. He knew what Loki was doing. He was soul-messaging his daughter Hela, and Tony couldn’t wait to see Steve’s face when they made contact with his buddy from World War II. This was going to be priceless. Sure, they couldn’t bring him back, but they could let Steve see him, talk to him one last time...Give him closure, right?

Loki frowned when he opened his eyes, looking puzzled, “That cannot be right. He must have survived the fall…”

Steve sighed, “I know what I saw. It was at least a few hundred foot drop. He’s gone, okay?”

“I would not be so certain,” Loki stated, “Allow me a moment to contact my sons and we shall see if they can find a lead. I have reason to suspect that your friend is still alive.”

Clint squinted an eye and cocked his head, “Now where the hell is he getting that mysterious conclusion from?”

Loki didn’t say anything to defend himself, now using his StarkPhone to text the boys, and Steve wasn’t looking very convinced.

There was an awkward silence, and Tony cleared his throat, “ I have an idea. Let’s sit down, and go around the table, sharing our darkest secrets since Steve and Loki were kind enough to share some of theirs.”

“Uh, isn’t that why they’re called _secrets_? Because you _aren’t_ supposed to share them?” Clint asked, and Tony rolled his eyes, “It’s a team-building exercise, just deal with it.”

“It’s a nice thought,” Nat said, “But I’m not exactly eager to share my backstory.”

“Too bad,” Tony said, “I’ll go first.”

They sat down, reluctantly.

Tony sighed, “This is harder than I thought it was going to be...Okay, I’m not as put together as I look, and I’ve got a lot less self-esteem than you would think.”

“Surprise, surprise,” Nat muttered, and Steve glared now, “Let him talk.”

“I felt abandoned by my father. He never paid much attention to me. His happiest day was when he sent me off to boarding school. I think that’s about it…uh...”

Clint raised his eyebrows, “Huh. That sucks. Thanks for sharing, I guess.”

“Any other shocking news?” Natasha sighed.

“Shut up, Romanoff,” Loki said this time, and Natasha huffed, but fell silent.

Tony took a deep breath, “And...I’m sorry, Steve, for how I treated you. I judged you before I even met you because I felt like you took my childhood from me.”

Steve got the look on his face, the one that betrayed no emotions, brow furrowing and eyes turning hard, but Tony already knew to be his ‘shocked and confused and saddened’ face. Anyone else might see him as heartless with his stone cold expression, which is not what you would expect from Captain America, but that was just how the super soldier portrayed that particular emotion set: how he looked when he received bad news, like when the last member of his old WWII team died of old age, or just when he was thinking hard and formulating a battle strategy. Tony was glad he knew him well enough to recognize that now.

“I just...he was never around, always working to find you, or recreate the super soldier serum, and when he was, it was always ‘Captain America’ this and ‘Captain America’ that. He wasn’t there when I won my first science fair in second grade, or in third, or fourth. He didn’t even attend my college graduation, which was a pretty big deal, since I was seventeen and you know, had already graduated summa cum laude from MIT. I had started drinking away my anxieties, and so I went to a party after the ceremony and got stoned. He picked me up from the local juvenile detention center, and on the ride home, he asked me why I couldn’t be more like perfect little Steve Rogers. _Steve Rogers,_ dead since 1945, when there I was, his son, heading off to Harvard for grad school at age seventeen. God, I hated you.”

The Captain stared at him, and though his facial expression didn’t change much, there was a look of guilt and embarrassment in his eyes now that Tony hadn’t seen before. Geez, this day really was exposing everyone. First, Thor crying, and now a guilty Cap. He felt really bad for saying all that to him now.

“I...I don’t know what to say, Tony. I just…” Cap spluttered.

“No, it’s okay,” Tony muttered, “Really, I’m over that now. I realize that it was just a petty hatred. It wasn’t your fault, I mean, how could it be? You were frozen in an ice cube. “ He cleared his throat, “So, yeah, it was probably childish of me just bringing it up again.”

“No, really. Thank you for telling me that. I get why you were so hostile at first now. That’s a terrible thought, to think that I took a father away from a son,” Steve said, “I hope you really don’t still…”

“Absolutely not. You’re a great guy, Rogers.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Clint cleared his throat, “I think I’ll go next.”

Tony grinned, “Great. I thought I was going to be the only one sharing.”

Clint laughed, “Alright, so I have something I’ve been meaning to tell you guys for a while now. Actually, first, let me tell you my juicy back story, just to spice things up. So, I orphaned at a very young age, and I never really knew my parents.”

“I’m so sorry for you,” Steve said politely, and Tony nodded. He’d heard this story before.

“Anyways, my dad beat me and my older brother Barney, but I hardly remember that, because me and Barney ran away and joined the circus. Barney left one day, and I have no Earthly idea if he’s alive out there somewhere or not. I miss him, but not really. My memories are pretty scant. He was a good brother, I guess. Stood up for me. I remember his face, just barely. Anyways, I became an assassin one day, and we won’t go into the details about that, but SHIELD eventually recruited me, and I would later do the same for Nat here. She still owes me one for sparing her life…”

“I thought I paid off that debt when I knocked the bug out of your head,” Natasha glared, and Clint sniggered, “Nope, I’m going to milk the Budapest trump card forever.”

“Oh, good to know,” the assassin sighed.

“Anyways, I’ve figured I might as well tell you now and get it over with, because you’ll find it out eventually anyway,” Clint stated vaguely, “Nat knows, and I think Loki knows, so…”

Loki nodded, “I can guess what you are speaking of...”

“So, the truth is that Loki’s not the only expectant mother.”

“You too?” Tony cried, and Thor got a ridiculous grin on his face. Bruce snorted, “Well, this day just keeps gets more and more unpredictable.”

“I have a wife named Laura, and two kids, Lily and Cooper. A third one’s on the way. Sorry about not telling you guys earlier, I just like to keep family and work compartmentalized. It’s safer that way, you know? But if the info’s not safe here, then I don’t know where…”

“I ...guess. I was not expecting this at all.” Tony said.

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t expecting to be told over breakfast that you’re gay, you’re married to America’s most-wanted criminal, and you somehow got a _man_ pregnant,” Clint snapped playfully.

“Fair enough,” Tony laughed.

“When might we…” Thor began.

“Oh, and don’t even bother to ask where they live, because I’m absolutely not telling you that, even though I know you’ll find out within a week,” Clint said, rolling his eyes at Tony. Tony flashed back a shit-eating grin. More dramatic eye-rolling.

“Alright, who’s next, ‘cause that’s all I’ve got for today,” Clint asked.

“I shall go now,” Thor inclined his head, “My deepest, darkest secret is not much of a secret, but I shall tell it anyways.”

Loki snorted, “’Tis only to be expected. I am not sure you have many deep, dark secrets, Thor, you tell everyone exactly what you’re thinking at all times.”

“You are probably right,” Thor nodded, “But still, my brother, this is a secret that not even your ears have heard, nor that you have realized, obviously.”

“Well, go ahead,” Loki said, “I’m listening.”

“Are you _truly_ listening this time, or is something about to fly into me again?” Thor joked.

“Yes,” Loki snorted again, “I am truly listening.”

“Well then,” Thor boomed, raising his hammer and looking skyward, “Let it be known throughout the Nine Realms that it matters not to me whether my brother is that in blood, nor what race he belongs to.”

Loki smiled but didn't say anything. Thor looked him in the eyes now, “And let it be known to mine brother...I never hated Jotunns.”

Loki frowned, “Certainly did not seem li…”

“I was an arrogant fool, you know that well. How could I hate a Jotunn when I never had even truly met one? I hoped to impress Sif and the Warriors Three, but most importantly, I hoped to impress…”

“Your father, yes, we know, Thor,” Tony sighed.

He was surprised when Thor shook his head, “Yes, perhaps my father too, but there was none whom I wanted to impress more so than my brother.”

Loki choked a little, “I am sorry, what?”

“You heard me correctly, little brother. I looked up to you. Alas, I made the mistake of thinking that you could handle the crudeness of my friends on your own. I did not realize that you could even be tormented by their ridiculous words, you seemed so intelligent and untouchable.”

Loki could not have looked more stunned if Thor had just told him that he was now King of Asgard. He furrowed his brow, as if trying to decide whether Thor was tricking him or not.

“I know you viewed my companions and I as immature children, so I figured that you took our insults as naught but childish jest. I overestimated your power...and you were skilled at hiding your feelings. I had no idea they actually hurt you…that I hurt you, and for that I am truly sorry.”

Loki’s eyes were wet, and Tony could feel the pain and happiness flowing off of Loki and surging through him like raging wildfires.

“But all of Asgard knew something that you did not Loki, something you failed to see,” Thor said, smiling softly, “You must have been so caught up in your attempts to be Father’s favorite that you never realized... you were always _my_ favorite.”

Loki let out a sob, and buried his face in Thor’s shoulder. Thor embraced his brother, and at that moment, Tony forgave Point Break for every idiotic thing he had ever done. He could just _feel_ that Loki had too, and he wondered if this was what it was like to flow with your magic. That, or Loki was accidentally projecting his emotions over their bond.

“Ew,” a voice suddenly said from behind Tony, “Sappy brotherly love, ga-ross.”

He turned around to see the twins, in their shiny red-and-orange ninja outfits. Váli (he could only tell because their outfits were opposite color schemes) pulled down the cloth covering his nose and mouth and made a gagging motion. Giggling, they turned to the Avengers. They both pulled posters and various Avengers regalia from who knows where—probably their little cubbyholes in the nether-space, and ran up to their favorite team members. Steve was quickly assaulted by an over-eager Váli with several Captain America posters, and Nari ran up to Hawkeye, thrusting what appeared to be an Asgardian bow at the archer, and begging him to sign it. The two Avengers looked bewildered by the sudden attention.

Tony raised an eyebrow as Clint tentatively signed the bow, “Nari, where did you get that?”

“Erm…I borrowed it?” Nari said, sniggering.

“You’re going to give that back to whatever Asgardian guard you swiped it off of.” Tony said firmly.

“Aw, come on!” Nari protested.

“Nari,” Loki said sternly, but he was laughing.

“But Hawkeye’s already signed it! With Sharpie!” Nari whined as he took the bow back.

“Well, figure out how to clean it, and then return it,” Tony rolled his eyes, “You don’t even know how to shoot it anyways, so what would you do with it?”

“Hang it in my room!” Nari said, “Now that we can live in the tower. PLEASE?”

“Oh, let him keep it,” Loki chuckled, “The guard shall not miss it, I assure you. ”

Tony sighed, “Just...kids...please stop stealing people’s stuff.”

“Sure thing,” Nari sniggered, glancing over to where Váli _used_ to be. Tony huffed. Disappearing twins was NEVER a good thing. It usually always meant that they were up to mischief. Sure enough, there was a silence, and then Váli reappeared on the counter top, giggling maliciously.

“Might want to check your shield, Cap’n,” he teased.

Steve slowly pulled his shield off his back, and stared down at it in horror, because instead of red-white-and-blue with a star, it was painted plain white, with the red Canadian maple leaf. He held it out from him, touched his back and muttered, “How did they...I just saw it when I grabbed it off the stand beside Thor’s... ” He looked up at Loki in befuddlement and then back at the twins.

“Hail, Cap'n Canada,” Nari saluted dramatically from where he was now perched on a bar stool, causing the crazy brothers to simultaneously fall into hysterics. Nari very narrowly avoided a topple off the bar stool onto his head, arms pinwheeling as he regained his balance, but this only made the two laugh all the harder.

Tony couldn’t help but snort at their antics, and Clint joined in, “How did you _do_ that?”

“Magic,” Váli whispered dramatically from where he was sprawled on the counter top, and giggled some more.

“A touch spell, I presume?” Loki grinned, nodding at Rogers “I’m impressed.”

Steve sighed, “I’m going to have to get this repainted now, aren’t I?”

“I don’t think so…” Tony said, “Right? I’m guessing that was a temporary…”

“...contact illusion spell,” Loki finished, and the twins bobbed their heads eagerly.

“The spell should wear off in a few minutes,” Loki reassured the flustered super-soldier.

Steve nodded, setting down the shield and looking at the twins, “So, you’re...Loki’s sons?”

“Yessssss,” Nari said, pulling off his mask. His brother followed suit. Clint gaped, shaking his head in disbelief, “Okay, was not expecting that either. Man, you’re like, Loki Mini-Mes. Holy crap…”

“Your sons are matching twins!” Thor cried, “ _And_ they both resemble you as a child!”

“Twinning!” Váli cried.

“Hey, wait a second,” Nari said, “If Loki’s our dad, and he’s Thor’s brother, then that means Thor is our uncle!”

“That is weird,” Váli said, but Thor apparently didn’t hear him over his mile-wide smile. He beamed, “I _am_ an uncle aren’t I? So...one of you is called Nari. Which one of you is Nari again, and if I might inquire, what is the other’s name?”

“I’m Nari, Nari Lokison,” Nari grinned up at Thor.

Váli did a weird little superhero pose, “Váli Lokison, and my secret is...I’m Batman.”

“You are the exact opposite of Batman,” Tony said, “If anyone became Batman, it would have to be Fenris.”

“Definitely Fenris,” Nari agreed, “Or you.”

“Nah. I’ve got the money and the gadgets, sure, but I’m not nearly brooding enough to be Bruce Wayne.”

“Well, Fenris isn’t _that_ emo either,” Váli argued, being contrary as usual, and Nari gave a thumbs up, “I second that motion. He is a sexy womanizer.”

“Where are you two even learning these terms?” Tony furrowed his brow, trying to be a good role model, though adding a mumbled afterthought, “And that’s not the correct use of that word anyways…”

“Shut up, Dad #2, I’m waaaaaay over eighteen,” Váli cackled.

“Not in maturity you’re not,” Tony muttered, moving behind the bar and cracking open a container of scotch. God knows, he needed it right now. ‘Course, the stuff didn’t do much of anything for him nowadays.

“Whoa-ho-ho, who’s talking now?” Clint fired back, and the twins apparently got a huge kick out of this, giggling like little maniacs. Nari high-fived Clint.

Oh gods…

Those kids did not need to form an alliance with Barton, of all the people. He sent a quick prayer to whatever higher power there was out there: _‘Please, don’t let him show them the vents...anything but that.’_

“Alright, enough fooling around,” Loki finally cut in, though still chuckling a bit from Clint’s clever comeback, “I called you two here because the good Captain requires your aid.”

“What for?” Váli asked, sniggering some more, “He having problems with his shield lately?” More barks of laughter.

“No, seriously,” Tony said, “He needs your help in locating a long lost friend that he thought was dead, but apparently isn’t.”

“Wait, you did confirm with…” Nari started, calming down almost instantly.

“Yes, we did,” Loki interrupted, and Tony realized that he had purposefully been avoiding Hela’s name being mentioned.

 _Why are you …._ he thought to Loki.

 _I think we have shocked Thor enough for right now,_ Loki spoke in his head, _Do not worry, I am not attempting to cut her out._

Tony nodded, understanding. Thor definitely had been shell-shocked enough for one day, finding out over breakfast that his brother had a wife and family, that he killed his brother’s wife and doomed his brother’s race to extinction, that his brother was completely innocent and had been tortured and mind-controlled by a bigger power out there that they now had to face, and now his brother was gay and married to his teammate, they were soul-mates, _and_ on top of it all, Loki was pregnant. In short, the Thunderer was having a crazy morning. He didn’t need to add Hel, of whom the Asgardians were completed terrified, to the mix just yet.

“So...how can we help?” Nari asked.

“We are searching for the good Captain’s friend and ally from World War Two, James Buchanan Barnes, who supposedly died falling from a train in the mountains whilst in combat. We think he survived though, and he is still out there somewhere. We do not even know where to start looking, though, so we were hoping you could do so,” Loki said.

“General search...But I don’t think we can, um, search the uh, the internet for a long lost W-W two veteran...But maybe,” Nari said, his eyes lighting up. Tony could see the gears turning in his brain as he thought.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked Váli.

“SHIELD,” Váli said, and Nari grinned.

“What about it?” Steve asked.

“What better place to search for a missing friend of Cap’n ‘Merica than the database of the organization _named_ for him, right?” Nari said.

“You have access to _The_ Database?” Natasha asked incredulously.

“Nope, not at all,” Nari grinned, opening his regular old SI laptop that he had turned into a hacking machine, “Suit up, friends, we’re hacking SHIELD.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering, the opposite color schemes of the Twins' shiny ninja outfits are red-and-gold flames on orange for Váli, and orange-and-gold flames on red for Nari.


	26. Little Hackers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please ignore my lack of real knowledge on hacking. XD

“Hacking SHIELD?” Bruce choked, and Tony shrugged as he sipped his drink, “It’s not that difficult.”

“You didn’t ever access higher level files,” Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Well, whatever, I wasn’t really trying to get all your darkest secrets either, just the general plans. And anyway, I can guarantee you that Jarvis’s firewalls are much stronger than anything the Men in Black can put up.”

“Keep dreaming, Stark,” Natasha sighed, “Look kids, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not going to get very far into the database. It’s likely the world’s most secure network. Even Coulson...my AIC... didn’t have full access to everything we have on file there, and he was level 9.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Tony chuckled, “When it comes to hacking skills, these kids blow me out of the park.”

Clint raised an eyebrow, “Did Tony Stark just admit that his technological abilities are inferior to someone else’s? I’ve gotta be dreaming.”

“Shut up, Katniss,” Tony huffed, “It’s true though. They’ve already hacked Jarvis. In a ridiculously short period of time.”

“Twenty eight minutes and thirty two seconds,” Váli informed the group with a cocky smirk.

“Hey Váli,” Nari grinned suddenly, “I think I’ve found a way in. We might just need to hook up CREEP to do some processing though.”

“Creep?” Thor asked, and Váli nodded, “CREEP stands for the Coolest Robot Ever Existing, Period.”

“We took some inspiration from Just A Rather Very Intelligent System,” Váli explained.

“Ah,” Thor nodded, but you could tell by his facial expression that he had no idea what Just A Rather Very Intelligent System was either.

“That’s what Jarvis stands for,” Tony clarified, taking pity on the confused god.

“Oh, that is the voice in the ceilings, your invisible servant, correct? I was not aware that his name stood for something else.”

“Uh-huh,” Nari said, looking over at the doorway when he heard the soft click-click-click of metal on the tile floor. C.R.E.E.P. the metal cat strode in and leapt up onto the counter beside the twins.

“That...is a really cool cat,” Clint exhaled, “Did you guys...did you really build that?”

“Yep!” Nari grinned, “We reverse engineered Jarvis and made our own AI, and it runs this super-awesome cat robot.”

“Alright, so I think we’re in already,” Nari said after about fifteen minutes of clacking away at hyperspeed, “Found a glitch in the system coding...I love handy little glitches.”

“Yeah, right,” Clint snorted. Nari wiggled his eyebrows, and turned the computer around.

The archer gasped, and Tony stared incredulously. Damn. They were better than he thought.

‘Good Morning, Director Fury,’ The screen flashed, and pulled up a home page that looked like some convoluted hub of sorts, with files, agents, mission reports, and at least ten million other options, and a single button that read ‘Database .’

“This is insane…” Clint muttered, “It looks like my page, just with more options, but… Okay, this cannot be for real. More contact-magic stuff?”

“Nope. Real. We are, minus the eye patch, now Director Nicholas J. Fury,” Váli sniggered, as Nari turned back the computer and continued clicking, muttering as he worked.

“I’m searching his name. Okay, I have a file. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, soldier of the 107th Regiment, born on March 17, 1917 , killed in combat on October 14th, 1945. Known acquaintances, Steven Rogers, Howard Stark, Peggy Carter. Bla, bla, bla, member of Howling Commandoes, that’s a fun team name, etcetera, etcetera….Yeah, I could read you the whole circumstances of death, mission reports and all that stuff, but I think it’ll totally be a waste of time. This is like, totally unhelpful. They even have a body….sort of...ew that’s gross, okay, nice photo there. Splatted dude. Totally did not want to see that today. Blech.”

“Nari,” Loki said, looking at the photo, “There is no way they can tell whether that body belongs to Barnes. Your sister…”

“Well _someone’s_ got the information wrong,” Váli said.

“Keep looking,” Tony insisted. He trusted Hela. If she said Barnes wasn’t dead, then he wasn’t dead. Nothing went on in Hel’s realm that she didn’t know about.

“They’re probably right. SHIELD can’t always be accurate,” Nari said, “Let’s have CREEP do a search, see if we can get some more info from SHIELD before we log out. As the Director, we have a lot of power and a lot of info and stuff just right there in our hands.”

“That seems like a good idea,” Clint agreed. Natasha gave him a look, “Never thought you’d be the subversive type.”

“Aw, Nat, you know I’m too curious for my own good,” Clint laughed.  
The kids hooked C.R.E.E.P. up to the laptop with a standard USB cable that came out of the cat’s paw, and the AI began humming, processing the info.

“Look for, like, I don’t know, strange files. Anything that seems out of the ordinary,” Nari instructed.

“That is not very specific, your Flaming Majesty,” the cat said, ruby eyes flickering with light as it processed with a low purr of machinery, “I have found approximately 1,460,340 ‘strange’ files.”

“By what definition of strange?” Loki asked.

“I decided to search for instances relating to unusual deaths, murders, and superpowers, and all files related to Captain America and Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.”

“Wow, very helpful, thanks a lot,” Nari sighed, “That’s really narrowing it down. I read the circumstance of Barnes’s death while you were loading your info, and it leaves a lot to be assumed, because there was no intact body and whatever, but as far as being unusual when it comes to military stuff…he just fell off a cliff during a fight on a train, right?”

“Not really too odd,” Váli said, “ So why don’t you take out military deaths. And unusual deaths too, unless they’re like, super, super weird. Also, like my bro said before, I think looking for this guy using info they have about him and the Captain is useless too, so cut those files.”

Tony was befuddled by their logic. Trust the kids to look in the most backwards way possible.

“I have eliminated the selected files. Your search now includes approximately 650,208 files.”

“Murders and superpowers…” Natasha shook her head, “Those are huge categories.”

“I also included the most classified files of the Database,” C.R.E.E.P. added, and Nari stared, “Why didn’t you say that to begin with?”

“My apologies,” CREEP said.

“Give us a list of the top 100 most top-secret files SHIELD’s got. The weirdest of the weird,” Váli ordered, “Alive for this long? With a lotta luck, we’ll find him there.”

“Yes, your Flaming Majesty.”

“This is a very haphazard way of searching,” Steve noted, and Váli shrugged, “We’re not in a huge rush. This guy has been around since what, the ‘40s? I think he’s like, still going to be wherever he is for a long time, no offense, Cap. I’m a huge fan, FYI, so you can totally trust me. And besides, we _are_ usually pretty lucky. If this doesn’t work, we’ll try something else, ‘kay?”

“Trust them,” Loki said, “They’ll find your Bucky... it just may take some time.”

“Ooh, cool,” Nari said as he scrolled through the list they received, “Lots of these are incidents with people on something called the Index, and they all have…”

“Superpowers,” Clint nodded, “Coulson’s main job was to keep track of people on the Index, a list of super-powered individuals.”

“Cool beans,” Váli said, “Bet they don’t have us though.”

“Probably not. They only just listed Thor and Loki; Thor the first time he came to Earth, and Loki after the invasion.” Natasha said, nodding in their direction.

“Yep, they both have files in the top 100.”

“What else is on there?” Clint asked, eyes lighting up mischievously, “I’d be really interested to see what secrets Fury is hiding.”

“Well, there’s files on AIM, Dr. Doom, Project Pegasus, various governments, Ten Rings, the Tesseract, Asgard, Project T.A.H.I.T.I., Inhumans, the Avengers Initiative, Tony Stark, death of Co-Director Amir uh...Bash-Hat, Project Insi…”

“Hold up!” Clint cried, “You’ve got files on the death of SHIELD Co-Director Amir Bashad?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I thought he was just a tall tale to scare the newbies…” Clint said breathlessly, and Natasha rolled her eyes, “Click that file, please.”

“Can...do, well uh...There’s nothing really here. Just something about his circumstances of death which is incredibly vague, and some encryption code in the background process and some mostly blacked-out sheets.”

“Redacted,” Clint groaned, “Crap.”

“Well, you think you could decrypt the code?” Bruce asked softly.

“CREEP, you think you can?” Nari asked.

C.R.E.E.P. hummed and buzzed, and didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally she spoke.

“Sirs, there are vital sections missing in the code sequence, and I cannot decrypt it. My apologies.”

“Well that sucks. Guess we’ll have to do it manually,” Nari said, “It may be a while. This is complex.”

A few minutes later, Nari grinned and sat up, “I think I got something, just maybe. Some more code.”

“That’s very helpful,” Tony snorted, but he wasn’t really judging. The boys were brilliant, but bad at explaining themselves. Then again, the others might not understand what they were saying even if they did elaborate. Tony had a hard enough time following them himself, and he spoke the language of programming quite fluently.

“CREEP, you think you can get us past this small firewall?” Váli asked.

“I do believe so,” C.R.E.E.P. said. “Yes, the firewall is breached.”

“Great, decrypt this would you?”

“Decrypting, wait just a moment,” C.R.E.E.P. said, machine whirring making the robot cat sound like it was purring, “Alright, Decrypted.”

“So, CREEP just got us through the first layer of decoding, but that won’t help us with these blacked-out sheets. We’re going to have to hack further into the databases and finder an older version of the documents. There might still be a trace of them out there, if they used to be there before they were replaced. They probably do a decent job of wiping out all history though. This is SHIELD we’re talking about here. But, you know, not even they can be perfect. Let’s hope that the case, right?” Nari thought aloud.

They tapped furiously at the laptop, Váli pointing out mistakes here and there.

“Huh, I keep getting files and references back to a page called ‘Winter Soldier,’ but it all looks like a bunch of gibberish theory. Couple other deaths that point back... Do you peeps happen to know what that is?” Nari asked, “Something to do with Bashad’s murder, some agents think it was him...”

Clint looked spooked and Natasha’s expression was grim.

“He’s a legendary assassin,” Clint said, “At least among agents of SHIELD.”

“Legendary?” Tony asked.

“He’s been around since a few years after Rogers was frozen. Nobody’s seen him, but every once in a while, an important, well-protected person like Amir gets murdered, and no one knows who did it, so they say that it was the Winter Soldier,” Natasha explained, “There are usually certain clues. Completely crushed tracheas, Soviet slugs. Witnesses who caught glimpses of a black leather suit and a metal arm. ” Natasha explained, “As it is, he’s been credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years. And those are just the probable ones. There could be more.”

“ If he does exist, surely not all of those murders could have been one guy, especially considering he’s been around for sixty some years,” Clint rationalized, “So are we talking multiple Winter Soldiers?”

Nat shook her head, “From what we’ve seen, it’s just one man. How he’s lived this long is a mystery. Everything about him is a mystery...and every SHIELD agent who has started looking for him has turned up dead. I’ve heard rumors that Fury knows his true identity and just isn’t disclosing the info, but they’re just that. Rumors. I’ve asked, and he has no idea.”

“He’s a ghost,” Steve murmured, and Clint nodded, “Basically, yeah.”

“But Clint, you’re wrong about him being a tall tale,” Natasha stated.

“You seem really certain of that. How do you know so much about him and Barton doesn’t?” Bruce questioned.

Natasha’s expression went dark, “Because I was damn near killed by him.”

 _That_ got the group’s attention.

Clint frowned, “Okay, that’s news to me. How come I’ve never heard about the Winter Soldier attempting to assassinate the Black Widow, huh?”

“We work for a secret organization, Clint,” Natasha rolled her eyes, “The mission was classified. Still is. I shouldn’t be telling you all this, but here we are. And he wasn’t tasked with killing me. If he had been, I would probably be dead. To my knowledge, he’s only ever been credited with one failed assassination attempt.”

“Who? Did they catch a glimpse of him?” Tony questioned.

Natasha winced, “The senator was permanently maimed, rendered unable to form a coherent thought. We couldn’t get any information from him.”

“So what happened with you?” Clint asked.

Natasha shifted in her seat and cleared her throat, “I was transporting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, three years back. I was tasked with protecting him. We had reason to suspect that the Winter Soldier was going to make an attempt on his life. Someone shot out our tires near Odessa. We lost control and went over a cliff. I pulled him out and tried to cover him.”

At that, Natasha lifted up her shirt to reveal a nasty scar on her stomach, “The Winter Soldier shot him, straight through me. Soviet slug. No rifling. Bye-bye, bikinis.”

Clint winced, “I was wondering what the hell kind of bullet gave you that scar.”

Natasha nodded, “A friendly reminder that I survived an encounter with the world’s deadliest assassin, but only because I wasn’t the target.”

“Well, world’s deadliest assassin if we can prove that he’s real and has really murdered everyone you say he has murdered,” Tony pointed out.

“Welp, the great mystery is about to be revealed, my friends,” Nari grinned as he worked.

Tony shuffled over to stand behind them, watching in fascination. He didn’t even get some of what they were doing, and they were moving at an unbelievable pace.

Nari’s smile slowly dissolved, “Dang it, what the heck is this code? It’s wanting a pass-code, and I can’t get past the firewall easily, it’s really, really complex. To hack this thing could take me ages...but it does keep giving me this code if I do this right here...Like that’s what it wants from us.”

“I dunno, I think… look there, at those numbers,” Váli cried, “Could those go with letters if we like, mess with them?”

“Maybe. Write them down, and let’s see if we can rearrange them into a pass-code of sorts...I think that section couldn’t be a letter though...a space, maybe? Kind of like in alt codes?”

“You mean an underscore? That’s not the code for a space.”

“Right. That’s not a lowercase h, either.”

“So the other one isn’t either, right?”

“This is like, an evil word puzzle. We could go through all the computer anagram combinations, but...

“Can we help?” Clint offered.

“Sure, make a word, or two words actually...ahem, out of these letters. I hope this is in English, or you guys won’t be much help, I guess,” Váli said, pulling a backpack out of thin air and ripping a sheet out of a notebook. He meticulous scribbled on the paper for a few minutes, ripped it up and passed out a slip to everyone. Tony rolled his eyes. They couldn’t have just used...oh never mind. Kids.

“I’m fluent in over a dozen languages,” Natasha commented dryly.

“Good for you. I know over 400 languages.” Nari grinned cockily.

“I’m...not going to argue with you.” Natasha sighed, apparently thinking the kid was messing with her. Nari wasn’t lying though. Loki, Thor, all of them spoke that many languages fluently because of a handy little thing called the all-speech. It was incredibly unfair...and when Tony found out that Loki could not actually converse with him without it...well, he was shocked to say the least. Interestingly enough, though he never learned it, the Asgardians along with many other space races actually chose to use English, because it had far more descriptive words than their languages, so in recent years they mostly spoke English up in space-land. Weird.

Tony looked down at his slip of paper. It read, _‘Had_Hialyr (w/ those caps, & underscore could b anywhere)’_

He snorted, because he didn’t even know where to start. He looked up to see how the others were faring.

Steve received his, stared at it for less than thirty seconds, and a scary expression played across his face. Fear? Anger? Outrage? His brow furrowed as he wrote something down, crossing out letters as he went and then made a faint choking sound, “I, I think I’ve got it…”

“What?” Bruce asked, “How on Earth did you solve that so quickly?”

“Because...it’s _them_.” he said darkly.

He showed them his slip of paper, reading, _‘Hail_Hydra’_ There was a stunned silence.

“Well, hope it’s right, because it looks like it will kill the computer if it’s not. Sounds right at least.” Váli said, carefully typing it in, “Isn’t that a bit strange as a password for a SHIELD network, though?”

“But look here!” his brother shouted suddenly, gesturing at a patch of code he had pulled up on Váli’s laptop, “If you enter onto the SHIELD network as a regular member, or even as the director, you can’t see that section of code we used to get to the pass-code page! It’s just gone!”

“Could that mean that…” Nari trailed off.

“Hydra still exists,” Natasha said ominously, “And they’ve infiltrated SHIELD.”

Tony vaguely remembered that Hydra was Captain America’s enemy back in the day. Weapons division for the Nazis, if he remembered correctly.

“But I thought SHIELD destroyed the rest of Hydra after Cap killed their leader?” he asked. Ugh...of course they wouldn’t stay destroyed. Because that would be way too easy.

“Apparently not,” Steve said, “And apparently this Winter Soldier has something to do with it?”

“Yep,” Nari said , “CREEP, break through this firewall ...now this one… Hold up let me insert something here...and voila! Decode this page now, will you?”

“Decrypting. Finished Sirs, here you go,”

They stared silently, Nari slowly scrolling the mouse.

“Yeah, this is bad, very, very bad,” Váli murmured, looking at the screen with his brother, “They’re not gonna like this...”

“What’s wrong?” Loki asked, peering at the screen and then frowning, “Yes indeed, that is not good at all.”

“What?! You’re killing me here, what’s going on?” Clint cried, standing up and starting over to them. Loki pulled him back down to his seat, “Let them explain first, please…”

“ Well, the pass-code page gave us a section of code. There was still a blank spot where the missing past files in the folder ‘Winter Soldier’ were supposed to be, so I filled in that code, and decrypted the whole thing using CREEP’s code software. There are a bunch of files showing up now, and I opened up the first one, and it really confused me at first, because I thought I was reading English like I normally do, but then I realized that I was actually reading another language.”

“Get to the point, Nari,” Loki sighed.

“Well, I don’t know what language it’s in, but it says Subject Zero Five, Winter Soldier, and has a list of random words like freight car, longing, and seventeen.”

“That’s unusual. They could be code for something,” Natasha suggested, “Let me see it.”

They showed her, and her eyes went wide, “Bozhe moi! This is more complicated than what I thought. That’s Russian, kiddos.”

“Wonderful, now the Russians are in on it. Maybe I _should_ move back to Kenya.” Bruce muttered.

“How can you not realize what language you’re reading, but still be able to read it?” Clint asked quizzically.

“The all-speech, ‘tis an æsir ability, gifted to us by ancient Asgardian magic. We can speak and read almost all languages as our own home language,” Loki said.

“Handy,” Steve commented, “I _still_ don’t understand how we got here, and finding out about Hydra was important, yes. We need to contact Director Fury immediately... but how does this Winter Soldier pertain to…”

“Well, we were still looking for a lead on your friend Bucky. Your friend didn’t die that day, or my sis would know, meaning that he lived, and so we used our fantastic program to look for a lead on him. We were looking for it in SHIELD files. Thanks to Hawkeye here, who is totally amazing…”

“Thanks, kid,” Clint beamed, clearly excited at the idea of having a real fan of his own.

“Since he had us derail and go off and click that thingy about the Bash-Hat dude, coincidentally, we also found that Hydra infiltrated SHIELD shortly after it was created,” Nari explained, turning the computer back around and scrolling some more, “And, like I said...we like, always have lady luck on our side, ‘cause coincidentally we _also_ found the dude named Bucky.”

“You found…Where?!” Steve cried, “Where is he?”

“Steve, I know it is hard to believe, but your friend, well,” Loki explained, “Hydra found him first. According to this page...the Winter Soldier...is one James Buchanan Barnes.”

“This monster turned Steve’s friend into an murderer?” Thor cried in the stunned silence. “This is abominable! We must avenge him!”

“How about we just go find him, and dad can fix his mind,” Váli grinned suddenly, “Look here, it reads, “Mission success, target terminated, mind wipe performed, asset contained and iced. And then it repeats. If you scroll back to the very beginning of the file, you see, “Prisoner 32557038 reacquired, subject testing restart. Subject o’ five broken, prep one mind wipe test varied success, subject o’ five broken, testing mind wipe protocol two point five. Subject o’ five mind wipe varied success. Subject o’ five injured in escape attempt, subject o’ five broken, prep three mind wipe. Subject o’ five broken, subject o’ five mind wipe, over and over again. Then it says, Program completed, installing Program Winter Soldier. Winter Soldier mind prep complete, soldier on duty. Asset iced, refer to later mission schedules.”

“They tortured him…” Steve whispered, “And took his memories…”

“Sounds like it,” Nari said, “But really, don’t worry. Dad knows what he’s doing when it comes to mind magic.”

“You can just fix something like that?” Natasha asked.

“Most certainly. I am quite confident I can restore your friend’s mind, Steve. First, though, we must find him.”

“This says that they contained and iced him. I’m guessing that means he’s put in cryo when he’s not on a mission? That would explain why he’s been around so long,” Clint said.

“This is unbelievable at best,” Steve said, “I can’t… How could he have survived?”

Loki frowned, “Well, perhaps a glimpse into the past would make things clearer. Could you let me see the memory?”

“Sorry? I would if there was a way? I can’t exactly do that memory thing you did earlier.” Steve muttered.

“There is indeed a way, for I can enter your memories, but you must allow it to happen,” Loki said, taking Steve’s hand and shutting his eyes. Steve winced.

“Let me in, you are fighting,” Loki grunted out.

“Sorry,” Steve whispered, shifting uncomfortably.

“Is he trying to...” Bruce frowned, “What exactly…”

“Dad’s entering his memories,” Nari clarified, “He can do that, like, super easily if the other person will let him. Otherwise, it’s like, pretty painful for both of them.”

“You found him on a laboratory table, when you rescued him, correct? You assumed that he was just in the medical bay because of the beating his comrades said he received from one of the guards. But he must have been there for something more than that.” Loki said suddenly, his eyes flying open, “So my assumption is that he was given something very similar to what you were given. He was the lab rat in Hydra’s attempt at creating the Super Soldier Serum. That would definitely explain he survived the fall, and ‘tis why they found him so quickly. They most likely had a tracker on him. That would also explain why they were able to ambush you.”

“Oh, that actually adds up,” Tony said.

“I’m really sorry Steve,” Bruce murmured, placing a hand on the Captain’s shoulder.

“Hopefully, we can get him out of there...better late than never,” Tony expressed.

“Thank you, Tony, and Loki... God bless you and your children,” Steve said tearfully, taking Loki’s hand in his.

“It was the least I could do to repay the wrong I have done to you,” Loki nodded, gripping the super soldier’s forearm tightly in a warrior’s handshake.

“I just need to know, can you actually find him, and bring him back?” Steve asked.

“Definitely. Just give us some time to find where they’re keeping him on ice,” Tony grinned, “With all of the family working together, Barnes will be found in no time.”


	27. Darkest Secrets Part II

“Speaking of all of the family…You mentioned that Loki has more than a couple kids. Can we, you know, meet the other ones?” Clint asked suddenly.

“Uh...Sure, I suppose.” Tony muttered, looking over to Loki.

“Perhaps tomorrow?” Loki said tentatively, “Or the day after that?”

“I am eager to see them,” Thor nodded, “I cannot wait to meet the rest of your offspring, my young nieces and nephews. We must show them and your soul-mate to Father and Mother! They will be so proud!”

“Yes,” Loki agreed, smiling now, “Frigga has always wanted grandchildren.”

“I have a grandma now too?” Váli groaned. “Since when do superheroes have grandmas?”

“You’re an idiot,” Nari huffed.

“He’s actually right,” Clint noted, counting off on his fingers, “I don’t have a grandma, Nat doesn’t, Thor doesn’t, Tony doesn’t, Loki doesn’t...well I’m guessing, Steve doesn’t, and Bruce doesn’t. Guess superhero grandmas just don’t stick around very long.”

Tony was stunned. He did not just hear what he thought he had heard...

Had Clint just listed Loki as a superhero?

Like it was already said and done, and Loki was an Avenger?

 _Did you catch that?_ he asked Loki in his head.

 _Yes._ Loki ‘whispered’ his response, and Tony could tell it was being said as a kind of breathy, awestruck, one-word gasp.

They believed Loki. They believed that Loki was a good guy. Good enough to be a hero, apparently.

Suddenly, their world was wide open, and the possibilities were endless.

The Avengers were standing beside them.

What had they to fear?

“That is a strange observation indeed,” Loki laughed, a bit awkwardly because he was trying to cover his shock, “Well, Váli, I suppose you shall be the first of your kind.”

“Yippee,” Váli sighed, “Just what I wanted.”

“Oh, shut up,” Nari said.

“So...uh...You’re going to take me to Asgard?” Tony asked. That was going to be totally awesome!

“Absolutely. In fact, if O...I mean… _Father_ …will allow it, I will try to bring the whole team,” Loki said, looking at Thor meaningfully. The Thunderer nodded his agreement, “Even though they are mortals… but perhaps he will make an exception due to the incredible bravery they have shown in protecting their realm.”

Thor nodded, “Yes, perhaps. I should want them to come as well.”

“But not yet,” Loki said, “Let us wait.”

“Very well,” Thor smiled, “They are not expecting me back for a long while, so we shall wait until we are summoned.”

Loki nodded absentmindedly. There was a silence except for the steady working of the twins, and then Bruce cleared his throat, “My dad beat me.”

All eyes turned on the scientist at this random outburst, and he shifted in his seat and twitched nervously.

“I...I just felt like I should share now,” he said awkwardly, “I’m sorry, it probably wasn’t a good time.”

“No, no,” Loki said, “’tis quite alright. That is a shocking insight.”

“I’m...I’m sorry,” Tony muttered, “I though my dad was bad, but you and Clint really had it much worse…”

“Thanks. I um,” Bruce started, “He came home drunk again one night, started trash talking my mom, threatening to hit her. I lured him outside, but he was going to hit me instead. He swung, I ducked and he missed. I got really mad, lost my mind, almost like I had Hulked out, but it couldn’t have been that, I hadn’t gotten the other guy yet. I hit him back, really hard, and when I came to, he was on the ground, his head cracked open on a rock. He was in a coma for two weeks before he was finally pronounced brain dead. They said it was self defense.”

“I...I am speechless...I’m so sorry Bruce. That’s terrible,” Clint finally said, “How old were you when this happened?”

“I was only fourteen.”

“I’m sorry too,” Steve added, “No kid should have to live with that.”

Bruce was silent for a long while, “I have another secret too. Do you remember Harlem?”

“Yeah. I heard about it on the news. That wasn’t too long ago right?”

“Yeah. I’m not trying to make excuses for what I did to that city, but at the time, a guy, General Ross, was chasing me down. He’s been hell-bent on dissecting me and making my blood into a weapon like the super soldier serum since the first time I Hulked out.”

“Your blood can be used like the super soldier serum?” Clint cried, and Steve’s eyes went wider than Tony thought possible.

“Yeah. Maybe to make terrible, very green, and enraged versions of Captain America. I’m not sure an army of Hulks would really turn out well for anyone involved,” Bruce chuckled sadly.

“Yeah, I’m not seeing that turning out well,” Tony said. He wasn’t sure what to think of that. He definitely wasn’t going to be taking a blood transfusion from Banner now, he knew that much.

“Well, anyway, Ross was determined to do that, and I was determined to get the Hulk out of my system. I had been communicating with a secret scientist, I called him Mr. Blue, he called me Mr. Green. I had been sending him bags of my blood to experiment with, try to find a cure…”

“Oof,” Nari commented, looking up from his computer, “Bad plan.”

“Yeah, I should have seen it coming. Anyways, I slipped up in the factory I was working on the electronics at, and cut myself. A drop or two of my blood falling into a soda bottle was apparently traced back to me, and they tried to capture me. I badly injured their team, and nearly killed his daughter.”

“Bet he was mad then,” Váli snorted.

“Actually, she claims that he was firing on her too, after she ran to protect me. My secret is, back before I got the Hulk, I was her partner in the lab, and we had kind of fallen for each other.”

“Okay, this is getting more and more cliché,” Clint said.

“I know, the forbidden romance,” Bruce laughed quietly, “Anyway, she says that the Hulk...the Hulk actually protected her from Ross and his men.”

“Wow...even the Hulk likes her?”

“Apparently,” Bruce said, “So, the thing was, after the Hulk ran away with his daughter, one of his men who was badly injured decided he wanted to become another Hulk and kill me. He got General Ross to hit him up with something that made him more powerful, and went for Mr. Blue.”

“Wonderful,” Loki said, “So did he get your blood?”

“Well, actually I made it there first, found out he was going to try to study my blood to try to cure cancer and all other diseases, and had been filling a room with my blood bags…”

“Ew, gross,” Váli cried, “Wait a second, Nari, go back, you’re missing a hyphen. Don’t you know that a missing hyphen once caused a NASA spaceship to crash?”

“When was this again?” Clint asked, and Váli shrugged, “Look it up, I don’t know.”

“What about when you got to Mr. Blue’s lab? Try to help, or was he just playing you?” Natasha asked.

“Oh, yeah. He did try to help me, put me on a table and made me Hulk out, then squashed the big guy back down into me. I really did feel like the other guy was gone. I tried to get him to dispose of the blood, but General Ross took me in before I could do that.. His man, who apparently was already part lizard thing beforehand, made Mr. Blue turn him part Hulk, and he became a more powerful monster, whom we called…”

“Abomination,” Tony finished, “That thing used to be a guy too?”

Bruce nodded, “I guess you know the story from there.”

“So Hulk came back?” Clint asked.

“I thought the treatment had worked too, and I thought we were screwed once we saw the Abomination started tearing up Harlem, from where we were inside Ross’s jet, but yes. I nearly turned myself green trying to Hulk out. The Hulk finally decided to make a reappearance once I hit the ground from a couple thousand feet up.”

“You...fell out of the plane?” Tony asked.

“Jumped, actually.”

“Wow,” Clint said, “That’s not crazy at all. What if the treatment _had_ worked?”

“Then I suppose I would be dead, along with most of Harlem,” Bruce shrugged.

“What did Ross do after you stopped the Abomination? Loki asked, “Especially regarding his daughter…”

“Well, he wasn’t happy, but he left me alone, mostly because I ran away as Hulk again. The last I saw of Elizabeth, she told me she had tried to make him see reason, but he had disowned her…”

“Ouch. That’s harsh,” Tony said. Who knew Bruce Banner had such a complicated back-story, complete with forbidden romance and all?

“I basically told her that I didn’t want to ruin her life, and that she would be happier without me. I know it hurt her, but I had to do it. I went to Calcutta and hid out, helped the locals, at least until Black Widow came calling.”

“Oh no, you totally blew the romance. That’s classic,” Váli said, and mimicked an explosion, “You really screwed up, bro.”

“I know. But she’s happy, married, and with kids now. She didn’t need the mess that was me,” Bruce said sadly, “Alright, enough about my life. Someone else needs to share now, or I might just Hulk out from the stress.”

“We definitely don’t want that,” Steve said, “How about you go, Natasha. You’re the only one who hasn’t shared something, you know.”

Natasha glared, “Look, I’m not exactly the sharing type.”

“We can see that,” Loki said, “Neither is Tony, and he shared his mind, so now it is your turn.”

The assassin sighed, “You’re never going to let it go until I do, are you?”

“Nope,” Váli grinned, “All must participate in the ridiculous sharing game of mushy feelings...”

“...or be doomed to die,” Nari finished, and cackled wickedly.

“Fine,” Natasha said, “I was an orphan, and I got taken in by the Russian government when I was a child. A man named Ivan Somodorov took me in, made me part of his team of young girls trained as living weapons in a hellhole called the Red Room. We were made to fight each other. The tournament day came along, when only a select few girls would survive and live to train another day. I bested the girl I was placed up against, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill her. She was my friend. I ran away, vomited even, but the next day, I was put up against her again, and told to finish what I had started. I knew it was either her or me, and that day I did it. I killed another human being for the first time and I haven’t stopped killing since. Happy?”

“Jesus,” Bruce muttered.

“And I was twelve at the time,” Natasha added.

“I’m...also sorry for you. Hell, I thought you were an assassin by choice,” Tony said, “Guess we’ve all got terrible secrets though.”

Loki nodded, “Thank you, Natasha, for sharing. It was hard, I am certain, but the team understands each other better now. We have all suffered in a way, but now we have found our family.”

“That’s a really nice thing to say,” Steve smiled.

“I try,” Loki laughed.

“So, what now?” Tony asked, “Any luck so far, kiddos?”

“Nope. Not really. According to this, he’s constantly changing locations, but only the locations of his missions are listed in these files, not where he is being kept,” Nari said.

“Dang,” Clint said, “I hate it when you’re looking through a file, and you think the info’s going to be there, and then it’s not, and you really don’t have anywhere else to look. That’s a mission-killer right there.”

Váli nodded absentmindedly, “We could maybe try to find someone who works for Hydra, get the location from them.”

“Not just any Hydra lackey is going to know that kind of information,” Natasha said with a grimace.

“Well, we have the perfect leverage to get someone with power to come out of hiding, now that we’ve busted their little covert operation,” Clint grinned. “And you’re formulating a plan already, aren’t you?”

Of course she was. Tony should have recognized that disapproving expression as her thinking face...somewhat like Steve.

The assassin nodded, turning to the twins, “I remember you said that you couldn’t see the page with the password as a regular member or the Director. Can you not see that page as _any_ member, or did you only try to access it from a few accounts?”

They frowned, “Why...do we need to try a few more?”

Loki grinned, “I see what she’s saying. If the organization has truly infiltrated SHIELD, they’re going to have implants.”

Tony had caught on by now, and he nodded, thinking, “I’ve got an theory. To stay concealed, funded, and in power, Hydra would need people higher up in the ranks of SHIELD or the government. I’m guessing that since Hydra’s been underground for so long, the people that are powerful implants in SHIELD and the government are some of the people with power in Hydra, right?”

“Maybe. That seems like a pretty risky plan.” Natasha said, “If they were discovered, they would immediately lose their leaders.”

“Well Hydra is known for making risky moves,” Steve nodded, “It’s a thought.”

“I guess we can search from the top of the chain, see what we find. There’s a ton of members to go through though, so this could really take a day or two. I think we’d be better off in the lab than on our laptops, ya know?” Vali said.

Tony sighed. He hated letting the twins in his lab, no matter how helpful they were at designing cool stuff. They always trashed it, or left a nasty surprise for him to find the next morning.

“Alright, but please don’t get distracted,” he said, “And no pranks.”

“Right,” Nari grinned.

“We won’t,” Váli agreed enthusiastically, and they dashed off, leaving Tony very unconvinced.

“You know, we have a briefing tomorrow about the AIM base raid last week,” Clint said out of the blue, glancing over at Steve furtively, “And some of us are very bad at keeping a straight face when lying, not pointing fingers or anything.”

 _He brings up a good point. Do you think we should tell SHIELD, so that we might come out of hiding?_ Loki asked.

_I don’t know...do you want to?_

_I think they will understand, and hiding will merely continue to become harder. I believe we have the backing of two powerful agents now, and we can fight if we must._

_Then let’s tell them. I want to breathe the free air as much as you, believe me. Maybe I can take you on a dinner date once we’re in the clear._

Steve shrugged at Clint’s silent accusation, not looking offended, “You might as well point away. I know I’m a terrible liar...Well, at least to people I care about.”

“It’s me too,” Clint admitted with a grin, “I’m not good at telling or catching lies either, unfortunately, and the kids have long since figured it out. I honestly don’t know how I got this far into the spy business.”

Loki laughed, “You need not worry about lying. I shall come to the briefing, and we shall tell them the truth,”

“Whoa, seriously?” Clint asked, “You sure you’re ready for this, with a baby and all? They’re likely to attack you on sight. You did kill their best agent, you know.”

“Who was that?” Loki asked, looking genuinely concerned.

“Our AIC, Phil Coulson,” Natasha said, with a bitterness that surprised Tony. Guess the whole team wasn’t entirely cozy with Loki after all.

“Wait, he died in the invasion? Why wasn’t I told about this?” Bruce asked, “He was a really nice guy. Little pushy still, but friendlier than the others.”

“We would have told you,” Tony said, “But you kind of ran off shortly afterwards, so…”

“I will be sure to apologize for killing this Coulson,” Loki said, looking over at Tony for support, “I am sorry for the loss of life I caused, and I wouldn’t risk going there if I didn’t think I had to... but I feel that this is necessary, and Fury is likely the only one we can trust who might be able to give us pointers on who in the organization he suspects to be Hydra.”

“That’s a valid point, and he’s right about not hiding. I’m not going to lie to Fury on his behalf,” Natasha said coldly, barriers up again.

Loki frowned, but said nothing.

“So, tomorrow,” Tony said, but they were back to the awkward silence from before. He finally stood, tapping Loki on the shoulder. The god stood and followed him out with a sigh, leaving the Avengers sitting in deafening silence.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Natasha muttered, and Steve nodded, “I believe that Tony’s doing the right thing though.”

“We’ll see,” the assassin said, not looking entirely convinced, “I still don’t trust him, either of them.”

Clint crossed his arms, “I believe them. Geez, Nat, he’s shown us enough proof, hasn’t he? And now he’s trying to find Cap’s friend, trying to apologize for something he didn’t do of his own free will.”

“Maybe,” she said, face stony as she picked up her unfinished cup of coffee and swooped out.


	28. On my Troth

“Well, that went better than I expected,” Tony murmured as Loki collapsed on the bed. The god remained silent, running his fingers through his hair, and Tony sat down beside him, “Hey, hey, don’t stress. We’re doing great. It’ll take some time for everyone to get used to this. I mean, the stories we got to hear...that was a big one for the team. Other than Clint, most of those guys don’t really share their feelings. And neither do we, but we did.”

Loki didn’t seem to be calming down, and that made Tony stressed too, “Hey, what’s wrong, babe?”

“I fear for our future. What if we get the Captain’s hopes up? We may never find this Winter Soldier, and then what? What if SHIELD attacks tomorrow? We are not ready to defend against this realm’s government, and you surely must realize that not everyone is going to side with us. There are many who would kill us both without hesitation if presented the chance. What about Asgard? We may not even be able to flee there, I was likely a fool to think so...I know Odin will not lightly let up on my punishment, and he can easily override the rules of marriage if he so wishes. I am not even technically an Asgardian, so they do not really apply anyways. I simply cannot let the child be…”

“Hey! That’s enough. I’ll hear none of that, mister,” Tony scolded.

“But they are all legitimate concerns!” Loki cried, looking slightly wild, his hands shaking, “We cannot just dismiss them as irrational fears, Stark!”

“Whoa, whoa, baby, calm down,” Tony said, catching Loki’s flailing limbs. Loki was starting to worry him lately. He had been moody at best. Thankfully, Loki calmed somewhat at his touch.

“I just...I’m afraid Anthony,” Loki whispered, “I am afraid for you, and the babe.”

Tony nodded, “Don’t be. Everything will be okay,” and leaning their foreheads together, he laid down beside his lover and ran his fingers through the god’s hair. Loki relaxed at the fingers massaging his scalp, and soon, his quiet sighs of sleep were the only sound in the room. Tony pressed himself close to his cool skin, wrapping his arms around his pregnant husband. He let out a long huff himself, and tried to fall asleep too, but he realized he was just as stressed as Loki, if not more, and sleep was evading him. He felt a vicious kick against his own stomach, the baby moving more and more inside Loki’s belly as of late, but the god was thankfully dead to the world.

Or so he thought, until Loki shifted, and let out a quiet moan. Tony opened his eyes to see the peaceful expression on Loki’s face contort into one of pain. The god’s breathing was picking up tempo, and Tony cursed in his head. He had only seen Loki have a nightmare twice, before they had bonded, and they had never spoken of it. Loki didn’t even know that Tony had seen him whimpering in his sleep as far as the inventor knew. Just because he had only seen it a few times didn’t mean Tony didn’t know what to do. He had experienced countless nightmares before he and the god had gotten together. Tony was fairly sure that Loki had done something with his magic to make his sleep terrors go away, but apparently the god couldn’t do the same for himself. Tony decided against outright waking him, afraid that Loki would lash out with his magic, but attempted to calm the god down with soothing words, and soft caresses. It seemed to work, the tossing man settling down again and the look of terror on his face calming to a grimace. Then, suddenly, Loki let out a scream of what could only be described as complete agony, thrashing so hard he simultaneously backhanded Tony in the face, and kicked him in the kneecap.

“Yow!” He screeched, clutching his nose, which was bleeding slightly. The bleeding quickly stopped, and he felt a tingle as he started regenerating, but Loki hadn’t stopped thrashing.

Tony did his best to pin down the spasming god before he hurt the baby, but it was taking all of his strength, godly or not.

“Loki, it’s fine, it’s fine, it’s going to be okay, whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real, come back to me baby,” he yelled, “Wake up!”

Loki sat bolt upright with a jolt, head butting Tony in the nose again, and Tony cursed as his nose spurted blood again, “Ow, babe, you’re murdering me here, Jesus.”

Loki took in the scene with panicked eyes, and then a look of terrible guilt marred his features, “You’re...hurt.”

“Yeah, you were thrashing pretty bad. I’m fine though. Are you okay?”

Loki’s pale cheeks turned red, embarrassed at showing Tony weakness perhaps, and he said nothing. Tony sighed, brow furrowing as he looked at Loki with concern, “Baby, don’t be ashamed about this, of all things. I had nightmares almost every night before you started coming around, you know, and you’ve been through so much worse than me.”

“I...I…” Loki stuttered, looking lost.

“Loki, it’s okay to be weak sometimes, you know. Forget what I said earlier. You can be afraid. Hell, I’m afraid too.” Tony found himself babbling, and he knew he had said the right thing when Loki looked up at him gratefully.

“Do you, um, wanna talk about it?” he asked.

Loki stared for a minute, and Tony backtracked, “I mean, only if you want to, it’s totally fine if you don’t.”

The god shook his head, “I saw…him…”

“Him as in…Thanos?” Tony asked, trying to be gentle

“Y...yes…” Loki stumbled over his words, “He...ah….he t...tortured you…”

Tony nodded, “But I’m here still, completely un-tortured so...just a bad dream right?”

“He...he took her Anthony. He cut….cut her….” Loki gasped for air, “...out of me...Tony! ...oh, Tony! I….I watched her die...you too! You...” Loki trailed off and let out a heart-wrenching sob.

“Oh, baby,” Tony murmured, and he clutched his trembling lover to his chest. He rubbed Loki’s stomach, doing his best to reassure the god that both he and the child were still alive and well. He whispered sweet nothings into Loki’s neck, cradling the god until his tears dried on his cheeks and his breathing slowed once more. Only then did Tony shed tears for his tormented soul-mate, letting himself break down, and in that moment, he realized how scared he was for the child as well. Thanos was a unceasing presence on his mind, and surely even more on Loki’s. The child was simply not safe until that monster was dead, he knew that much.

“We will find a way to kill that son of a bitch,” he said to his sleeping mate, “I will not let you or the baby come to harm because of him, or any other... _I swear it on my troth_. _”_

A flicker of gold, and a whisper in his mind, like an old woman hissing at him.

“A mortal? He dared invoke the timeless power of Yggdrasil on top of what he already did? I should have struck him down where he stood.”

“He knows not what he has done, the fool,” another ancient voice hissed, “You deign to use the swear of the gods, Earthling?”

“He was a Midgardian” the first voice snapped.

“Now he is a god…” another muttered.

“Invaded our realm and broke the law of mortality...”

“I will explain to you,” a third woman hissed.

Tony blinked as three old, rotting hags in black tattered robes appeared in his mind’s eye. Their hands were skeletal, shriveled and brown, like the hands of corpses. Bone peeked through the papery skin in places. Was he asleep? Dreaming? They leaned in as if to inspect him, and where their faces should have been, there were black, empty voids. The air hissed and spit around them with glowing golden runes.

“Who….the hell?” he muttered, though his lips weren’t moving while he was speaking in the dream. Could they hear him?

“We were there when your little planet was created, Midgardian,” the first hissed, seemingly in answer.

“We preside over the Nine Realms,” said the second.

“We have long since determined your future...but I failed to see this one coming,” the first added.

“I have no notion as to what you are talking about. Future?”

The third one finally spoke again, and her voice was the most terrifying of them all. “I…always…will…no that will not make much sense in future tense. I always...wi…wi…KNEW,” the creature coughed out the word like it pained her, “That you…hrrh...no…WOULD do this, Anthony Edward Stark. I will always foresee such things, long before they will come to pass.”

Tony shuddered involuntarily, and the creatures laughed.

“Has anyone had any insight as to what we should have done to him?” the first rasped. Her voice was the most broken, cracking as she...well he assumed they were she’s…spoke.

And then it finally clicked, and he would have fallen over if he hadn’t have been dreaming all of this…Invaded our realm...Nornheim...Future...

Norns.

When Loki and Thor cursed, they said “Norns,” or “Three Norns” or “Norns above,” as though these Norns were a force far more powerful than any god. Tony hadn’t seen them when they had taken the apples from Idunn’s orchard, but Loki had said that they were there. He could sense them.

The three Norns. They were so influential that they found their way into Greek mythology as well as Nordic...the three fates that control the lives of every being within the Nine Realms.

Past.

Present.

Future.

That would explain why one could only talk in past tense and the other had to insert “will” into everything.

His science brain whirring, he muttered something, still surprised that he could talk in this strange, prophetic-like dream, “Okay, so you guys are the three fates, or something? Why me?”

“How pitiful. You say that you do not know what you…” Present started.

“Did,” Past inserted helpfully, “You swore on your troth, little mortal.”

“Which is a binding oath upon the power of Yggdrasil,” Present informed him.

Tony gulped, “I...sorry? But I meant it…”

“Meant it, did you?” Past cackled, and Present laughed in a rattling cough along with her, “I am not Future, but just you wait and watch him fail. How many is that?”

“Thirty four have died by swearing on their troth….only twenty two have upheld their side of the oath. And never, in all my years, have I seen an Earthling who dared to call upon our power.”

“Mark our words, fool,” Present spat in Tony’s face, and he tried hard not to flinch.

“You shall not forget your promise,” Future whispered maliciously, “Or that mistake will be your last.”

He woke with a start, gasping. Loki was still asleep. It took him a long time after that to calm back down again. Holy Shit...he had just seen the Norns...and pledged a binding oath.

That was, uh, fun.

But he didn’t regret it. Nope, not at all.

He would keep Loki safe, or die trying...Norns be damned.


	29. Payback, my Dear

_—==Thursday, November 8th==—_

The next morning, as if he wanted to pretend nothing had happened or wanted to apologize for showing weakness, Loki woke him up with a sexy surprise. Nothing like waking up with your dick in someone’s mouth. He moaned as Loki hummed around his length, dipping his head down and swirling his tongue, all while swallowing and providing suction. Loki’s sinful mouth should have been outlawed; the man was far too good at giving blowjobs for having only done it a few times. Within minutes, Tony was coming up into Loki’s hot mouth.

“Wow, babe, way to wake a guy up,” he exhaled, leaning his head back again as Loki licked him clean. He was more than slightly dizzy.

“Good morning, Sirs. Thank you for waking him, Master Loki.”

“Not a problem,” Loki nodded.

“Your meeting with the Director is at eight. It is six o’clock at the moment,” Jarvis informed them, “I decided to wake you early so you could prepare with the others for your meeting.”

“Thanks, J,” Tony said, “Eight o’clock. God, trust the Pirate to make us get up bright and early.”

“’Tis not that early, Norns,” Loki laughed.

“You know I’m not a morning person like you, babe.” Tony said, trying to ignore the use of the everyday Asgardian curse. That word that meant so much more to him now...

“That you are not,” Loki said, standing and heading to the bathroom. Tony trudged after him, “So, you uh, you ready for this?”

“As ready as I will ever be,” Loki said, beginning to manually brush his hair... yet another sign of how magically and physically exhausted he was from the child. It wasn’t always like this, but there were days and weeks when it was worse than normal. He suspected this current bout of exhaustion was in part due to stress. Tony gently took the brush from his hands and sat Loki down on the stool so he could access the taller man’s head more easily. Loki sighed and shut his eyes, relaxing as Tony ran the brush over his scalp and untangled his ebony locks.

“You are a Nornsend, Anthony, truly,” Loki praised, and Tony laughed awkwardly, seeing a flash of the withered hags in his head again, “See, here the phrase is ‘Godsend’. I suppose that would be kind of weird to say in a realm full of gods though.”

Loki frowned, “Not everyone in Asgard is a god.”

“They aren’t?” Tony asked.

Loki’s frown deepened, “There are class systems in Asgard, much the same as your class systems here. The royalty and those considered high nobles are the only ones who can receive the status of god or goddess, and that is a blessing that must be deemed appropriate and received from the King or Queen.”

“That makes sense I suppose,” Tony absentmindedly babbled, “I don’t know why I thought you were all deities, I guess the myths made me think that Asgard was home to a bunch of gods only. I suppose there’s a pecking order everywhere you go though. Got to have someone that serves the gods.”

Loki made one of his unreadable emotion faces that Tony took to be negative most of the time, and Tony decided that they had talked about the topic for long enough. They finished getting ready in silence, and headed down the Avengers living space. It was around 6:30 by this point, but it had taken them a while to find the clothes he had bought for Loki.

“Mornin’ Tony…Loki,” Steve said somewhat awkwardly, setting down his newspaper. There were three sets of eyes on his mate and his hand found Tony’s with a death grip.

 _Hey. Like you told me, don’t get nervous. You’ve got nothing to fear from these guys now, and they’re going to help us present our case to Shield. We will be FINE,_ Tony thought.

Loki nodded absentmindedly, letting go of his hand and drifting over to the counter in silence, looking like a leaf being blown by the wind.

Thor grinned from the stool at the counter, where he was spooning Lucky Charms into his face directly from the box, “There you are! I could not believe I was up before you. I awoke, and could not return to sleep, but surely you have awoken quite late today? It is quite unlike you not to rise with the sun.”

“I have been up for a while now actually,” Loki said awkwardly, shifting a bit, and after a moment, he seemed to finally settle back into his own body. He loosened his tie as he headed over to the cabinet to find something to eat. In Tony’s opinion, he was looking quite spiffy in his two piece suit and green shirt, despite the fact that he had to leave the jacket unbuttoned due to the bulge in his belly and his blouse was made for women, being from the maternity section.

Natasha didn’t say anything as Loki passed the table, purposefully absorbed in her paperwork, even more so than on a regular day. Tony shook his head―no one could have THAT much paperwork to do. Sometimes, he swore that she just brought fake paperwork to the table in the morning, just so she wouldn’t have to have a conversation with anyone. What a lonely way of life. Course, Steve was always absorbed in a history book or the New York Times in the morning too, drinking coffee in the recliner by the window while he read, but at least he joined the table for breakfast when everyone else woke up. Natasha would usually just move to the counter and continue filling in her definitely-fake paperwork. It was sad, really.

Tony got his pre-made coffee that was delivered every morning from the ‘Fresh Sips Coffee/Teahouse’ down the street. He was drinking vanilla lattes now, ever since he had tried one the day Loki declared that those were the only type of coffee he could bring himself to drink, and he decided that they were actually very good. Loki himself drank herbal tea, and conveniently liked the mint tea from the same place.

Loki was rummaging through the cabinet now, seemingly indecisive on what he wanted, and Thor noticed, “Try the Charms of Luck, you will love them. They have little sweet things in them that are delicious, though I know not what they are.”

Loki rolled his eyes, and kept rummaging, “Yes, yes. I don’t think I’ll be having…”

“They are kept in a box behind the lower door if you are looking for them. Really, try them. I am told Midgardians eat these sort of things for break-fast.”

Loki sighed, “I do not need your instructions on where to find the breakfast cereal, Thor. I am not even looking where it is kept…ugh, forget it.”

“I am merely trying to help,” Thor said, “I thought perhaps you could not find them. What shall you eat for break-fast if not Midgardia…”

“I do not _want_ your ridiculous Lucky Charms today, Thor,” Loki turned around and snapped, “And even if I did, your instructions would not help anyone, because you are holding the box in your hand.”

Thor looked down, as if realizing he was eating for the first time, “Oh, so I am.”

“...and not to mention, based on what I know of your appetite, they are already long gone,” Loki finished angrily, turning back around, and Thor peered into the box to check and then shook it, whatever little was left at the bottom rattling around, and sat back, looking dejected, “My apologies.”

Loki sighed, and said nothing, finally finding the bag of flour he was looking for, and setting it beside the sugar out on the counter.

“I am sorry that I am such an oaf, brother,” Thor pleaded, looking terrified suddenly, like he just realized how much he was bugging Loki, “ I understand why you hate being around me—I am a nuisance—but please do not be angered at me now that we have just made amends.”

Loki sighed even louder, “I am not angry, Thor, just frustrated, and stressed alright? You are a very annoying being, yes, but I do not hate you by any means, so would you please shut up and stop being so overdramatic?”

“Oh. That is good,” Thor said, and then thankfully took Loki’s advice and shut up. Loki pulled out other various ingredients and began to mix up something in a bowl.

“You know, Loki,” Steve said, having been watching the god work, “Given that you’re heating syrup, I’m guessing you’re trying to make pancakes?”

“Yes, I am.”

“There’s something called pancake mix, and now I can afford it, I’ve found it saves a lot of time,” Steve advised.

“I know, thank you,” Loki acknowledged, “But I prefer homemade, and I have been trying my hand at cooking lately.”

Steve tilted his head at that, “Really? You any good?”

“He’s incredible. You need to try his chocolate cake, it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Tony praised, “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it beats your cookies and apple pies, Capsicle.”

Steve put his hand to his chest, looking scandalized, “I’m hurt, really” and then he smiled warmly at Loki, “ It’ll be nice to have someone else in the tower who can cook, so I don’t have to be the chef for these _hogs_ all the time,” he glared playfully at Thor. Loki clearly enjoyed Thor being put on the spot in such a way, his clear peals of laughter contagious; so much so that Tony, Steve, and finally Thor himself joined in. Clint, who had just walked into the room, let out a loud guffaw, shaking his head, “Steve Rogers…you’re getting an attitude.”

“And, I look forward to trying this phenomenal chocolate cake,” Steve added.

“Chocolate cake?” Clint asked, “All I heard was from ‘so I don’t have to be chef for these hogs’. Please tell me Tony hasn’t volunteered to cook to make up for us being nice, ’cause that’s not how to show me gratitude.”

“Nay, ‘twas my brother,” Thor grinned, “I never knew he was truly interested in the preparation of food, but I suppose it was only to be expected, from how often he used to sneak into the kitchens and bother the servants.”

Loki grinned, “They couldn’t keep me out.”

“No, nor could they satisfy your immense appetite for sweets,” Thor laughed, turning with a playful grin to look at the others, clearly about to tell a story. Tony could guess which one, too. Apparently he enjoyed this particular tale, though Loki was looking rather bored suddenly, apparently having heard it one too many times, “I have been told that they found my little brother crouched up in the storage spaces for the pastries once before a feast, and he had consumed almost all of them himself. When discovered, sugar all over his face, they said he scooped up most all of what was left and vanished in a puff of green smoke.”

“You’re one to talk. If I do remember correctly, at your lovely little wedding, you consumed three roast boar, five whole salmon, and a entire keg of mead.”

Tony snorted. That one was his favorite story about Thor, and he knew it was Loki’s too.

“I was stressed,” Thor complained, “An ogre had just stolen my hammer, and I was having to make a fool of myself to get it back.”

“Correction. You were so very drunk that you gambled away your precious hammer to an ogre,” Loki rolled his eyes, “So a little more embarrassment was only deserved.”

Thor harrumphed, “I suppose you’re right, this time.”

“Am I ever wrong?”

“Why do I feel like there is more to this story?” Clint asked.

Thor groaned, and Loki just grinned, “So glad you asked. The ogre Thrym wanted the hand of Freya, the goddess of love, in exchange for Thor’s hammer. However, he had never seen an Vanir woman, only hideous female ogres, so he had merely heard of her beauty. Thus, we decided that Thor should pose as Freya to get his hammer back.”

“Oh. My. God,” Clint snorted, and Bruce snorted from behind them.

“Oh, hey, Brucie,” Tony said, “Didn’t even see you there.”

“Seems I walked in at a good time. Please don’t stop on my accord,” Bruce said.

“So, Thor had to pretend to be a girl…”

Loki smirked, “Oh, yes indeed. You should have seen him. Our women dressed him, draping him in jewels and finery, the finest pearls from Queen Frigga dripping from his neck, the feathered cape of Freya over his shoulders, looking quite stunning in his flowing bridal gown.”

“I wish nothing more than to tell you to be quiet, but I probably deserve far worse than this…” Thor muttered, studying the cereal box.

“Fear not, I think this form of revenge will suffice,” Loki grinned evilly, “On the other hand, all I had to do was shape-shift into a female. I accompanied him as his bridesmaid, and thank the Norns for that, or he would have given himself away five minutes into the festivities. I had to explain to Thrym why he ate nearly all of their food, because he would not stop stuffing his face despite my insistent kicking, and though most his face was covered by a veil, I had to explain why his eyes were bloodshot and angry. I was just glad that Thrym became overly eager and decided to speed things along. Wishing to see the face of his lovely new wife, Mjölnir, being the bride-price, was quickly placed in the blushing bride’s lap as was custom. “

“Well, I’m glad….glad you got your hammer back, buddy,” Clint was near hysterics, “God, I wish you guys had phones. A picture of that would be priceless.”

Loki leaned forward, smiling all the wider, with a mischievous glimmer back in his eyes again. Tony was beyond happy. Loki was in his element, and Thor was finally getting payback, without truly getting hurt, “Well...Thor was never made aware of this, of that I made certain, but the rest of Asgard knew that Freya, who was angered because she was begged by Thor to just submit to wedding the ogre, painted a picture of Thor at his wedding.”

“And how, my dear brother, did she know what that scene looked like?” Thor said, with an exaggerated flourish of his eyebrows.

“Oh, I described it to her in detail, naturally,” Loki said airily, without a trace of shame.

Steve laughed heartily, something that Tony had never heard him do before. He was smiling, for real, rather than a half-smile with sad eyes…Tony finally noticed the difference.

Just from the hope that that friend was alive, huh? Guess that’s all that was keeping the Captain from being happy. He just needed something from his own time, Tony figured, someone close. Like a long-lost brother.

“So, you got Mjoo...jolnir back. Then what?” Steve asked.

“And then Thor rips off his dress, flips the table, and then proceeds to slaughter all of the ogres in nothing but tights. Unfortunately, I was on the other side of the table, so by the end of it, I’m stuck under a very heavy table in a dress, winded, covered in slimy meat and in a puddle of foul ogre blood. Not one of my favorite moments, but I suppose it was worth the laugh we all had at my dear brother’s expense once it was done and over with. Those moments were so very rare.”

“I am happy you found my trauma amusing,” Thor huffed, “...and I am sorry for flipping the feast table onto you, not that I haven’t apologized for doing so countless times already.”

“Apology gladly accepted, sweet Freya.”

Thor furrowed his brow, contemplating the risks and apparently deciding it was worth it: “Shut up, Loki.”

Loki just rolled his eyes, “Payback, my dear.”


End file.
